Tale of Two Pipers
by LittleMissValkryie
Summary: They've done a lot together. They've traveled the wastes looking for his son, killed more people then they can count, and done things they aren't proud of. But she wants more. When her subconscious goes rogue and attempts to execute these plans, she has to stop it before things get weird. Too late. Rated M for minor violence, major use of foul language and sexual themes.
1. Chapter 1

**They call me many things. To some, I am the Man Out of Time. To others still I am General, to others I am the Silver Shroud. Some call me Paladin, some still call me Father. Most call me the Sole Survivor. I care not. My story, however, is not something that one could forget. I left the Commonwealth, my home, a different place when I set foot on solid ground for the first time in 210 years. I met many men, killed even more. But there is one person I could never forget: The only one I had felt love for since those bastards killed my Nora. My name is Miles Mackenzie, and this is the story of a man and his love.**

 **Diamond City Market, 2287, Commonwealth**

Miles was in a rush on that day. The power armor coupling had fallen into disrepair, and the custom T-51 suit had flecks of its military green paint falling off. Miles groaned. "Piper!" he shouted, the welder drowning out most of his yelling.

"Yeah, Blue?" came his response, prompt as always. "Do you need something?" she asked, shouting over the din.

"Could you toss me a multi-wrench?" Miles responded, hands smoking. "If I don't secure this, we're going to be playing hot potato with a malfunctioning fusion core!" Piper threw him the wrench, which Miles caught with a look of gratitude on his face. "Thanks. Didn't want you to be writing my obit just yet, am I right?"

Piper chuckled, and responded, "Wow Blue, we need to work on your sense of humor. That was just… dark." She paused, then let out a laugh. "Nah, I'm fucking with you. That would suck though." She fiddled with her 10mm that Blue had given her about a month before. She knew his real name, she had published it in her article for crying out loud, she just felt uneasy when she called him anything else. When she had heard his story, she hadn't thought much of him at the time aside from biting McDonough in the ass with a missing persons story. She didn't really think he would take her up on her offer to travel with him after the interview, it just sorta… Happened. It's weird, anyone else would have been intimidated when over a ton of raw steel and circuits lumbered over and a man jumped out, but she found it kinda cute. She snapped herself out of her nostalgia, and focused on the task at hand.

"And… Finished! All we need to do is replace this fusion core, and we are good! Be very, very delicate. One false move and we're getting atomized." Piper glared at him in a knowing tone, and, with the forceps, took the enormous core out and put it in the cart behind her printing press as Miles slid in a new core. "Nice! This thing is ready to roll. So uh… what do you want to do?" chuckled a nervous Miles.

Piper shrugged. "Don't really know. Thought we could go check up on Valentine or something like that. He might need help, and after you killed Kellogg he's been bugging me about getting you to go to Goodneighbor with him."

"Alright. When did he want to talk?" Miles asked. "I promised you that we would go spy on Moe and Solomon and see if we can cook up a story."

Piper giggled. "That can wait. He said as soon as possible, and that was a week ago. Said he got Arami in the Memory Den to agree to getting Kellogg's memories to figure out how to access the Institute and get your son back from those bastards."

Miles cocked his eyebrow with surprise. "Lot of emotion comin' from over here. You alright lately, Piper? Can't have you going crazy in the field."  
Piper sighed. "Don't worry 'bout me, Blue. I've got McDonough hauling my ass over here, and it's just getting to me. I wonder what the Institute would be like, y'know? Advanced tech, not worrying if your next meal has been residing in someone's filth for the past day or two?"

Miles responded, trudging along the rough road to Goodneighbor, "The Institute is a bit like the Brotherhood in my opinion. They make this tech only for themselves. We commoners need that tech to survive, too. That's why I keep my cards close when I'm playing the rough game of allegiances." Miles looked up from the muddy road and saw a sign. "Goodneighbor… three miles. Almost there, Piper! Just a few more miles!"

Piper, even with her upgraded armor that she had been given, was slouching under the weight of her pack. "What did you… put in my bag… Bricks?" She chuckled, strained under the weight. "This is starting to be… overbearing."

Miles was quick to respond, "Sorry 'bout that. I'll take some of the load. Found a Fat Man, didn't want to lose it. Miniature nuclear weapons are always handy in a fight." He picked up the Fat Man and strapped it to the harness on his backpack, his back quivering under the extreme weight that had been placed on him. "I'm alright. Just realized how heavy this thing was. Never did think that I would be in a post apocalyptic wasteland. Or that I would be older than most living things. Or that I would be holding a nuclear device on my back. Crazy stuff."

As they walked, the sky began to darken, as Radio Freedom played its announcement. "It's 10:00, Commonwealth. Stay safe and sleep well." Piper yawned and began to lay a mat down on the ground. "Hey Blue, I think it's time we stop for the night. This area has some pretty unfriendly characters waltzing around, if you catch my drift." Miles nodded, yawning. He began to set up a campfire, and both him and Piper sat around the ring.

"Hey Piper? Did I ever tell you how I got my scar? Y'know, the one over my eye?" He took off his Shroud hat and tilted his head to his right eye. "Crazy story, if you want to hear it."

Piper perked up a bit, and looked over at him "This reporter is always looking for a good story, Blue. Let's hear it. We've got all night."

"Alright!" Miles responded. "So, it was a long, long time ago. Before the war, I was a member of the U.S. Marines."

Piper interrupted him. "What's a Marine? Isn't it some kind of sea animal or something like that?"

Miles laughed, and responded, "No. The Marines were a corp in the U.S. Military. We were just above the regular army grunts, but below the Spec Ops. So anyway, we were in Alaska, Anchorage to be exact, and…"

Piper interrupted again. "Wait… you saw Alaska BEFORE the War? Before the world went to hell in a handbasket? What was it like?"

Miles looked solemn, replying, "Well, actually, we were in the Resource Wars at the moment, and Alaska looked a bit like the Commonwealth does now. It had been bombed to shit. Keep in mind this was around 2066, and the Anchorage invasion was at its height. My unit and I were in the frontier areas of oil exploration, and we were a small group, probably 20-30 guys, when we got ambushed. I was later told it was around 40 Reds, but it felt like thousands. We had to go hand to hand when we ran out of bullets, and those Reds were unstoppable. Lotta good men died, and we eventually fought 'em back, but not before one of their officers gave me this nice ol' marking to make sure I remembered what happened. All the lives the Resource Wars lost, all for naught. It's horrible to think about. Vain attempts at survival." Miles looked vacant, and Piper looked worried.

"Blue? I know you're reminiscing, but are you sure that getting more depressed is going to help you right now? I mean, I'm happy that you can let this off your chest, but you also seem to be holding things back. Something you want to tell me?"

Miles looked shocked, then a bit nervous. "Nope. Nothing to say. How about you? You seem to be a bit rowdy lately." He had obviously dodged the question, and it only made Piper more suspicious of what his actual motives were for the vacancy. She was wary that he was holding something back, and she wanted to know what it was. It could wait, though. They had all the time in the Wastes.

"I'm doin' ok. Nat is doing fine too, not that you would need to know. She keeps on getting into trouble in school, an' she won't stop. That girl has too much of me in her." She yawned, and began to lay down on her sleeping bag. "Well, g'night Blue. Sleep well." The two companions slept soundly, the bulking hunk of titanium steel averting any would-be raiders from their pillage.

 **Goodneighbor, 2287, Commonwealth, Dawn**

The reporter woke up with a start, her hair a mess from the uncomfortable sleeping position, and her back hurting like a deathclaw's talon. She grunted, and looked over to the other side of the crude tent, where Miles slept soundly. She walked over to him, and yanked his pillow out from under him. "What the hell, Piper?!" he shouted, groggily.

"Sorry Blue. You've been sleepin' far too soundly for my tastes. And I think Nick might go haywire if he has to sit in that place hearing Ken talk about the pre-war days any longer. C'mon, it's only a two mile walk from here, and Hancock already granted you access to the city. Let's move."

Miles sat up, swaying under his own weight, and put his arm on Piper's shoulder to balance himself. "Where's… the power armor…" he slurred. She led him over, and shoved him inside the suit. It emitted a high pitched beeping sound, and started reading off code.

"I think that's robot talk for 'you are perfectly fine.' Onward ho, young Miles!" Piper said with a pep in her step. They covered the distance that was needed, and reached the gates of Goodneighbor. "Ah… Smell that air! Rotting ghouls mixed with a healthy dose of radiation. Nothin' like it, Blue." Piper approached KL-EO and browsed her new wares with what seemed like feigned interest while Miles was trying to fix his Pip-Boy.

"My vitals are not low! Sun literally just did a check up on me! Blasted machines can't even function properly." When they reached the Den, Irma pointed down the stairs, and they arrived to see a much welcomed face.

"What took you two so long?" the detective asked, extinguishing his cigarette on his synthetic hand.

"Kept you waiting, huh?" Miles said, with a mild sense of déjà vu washing over him as he said it. "We just can't all be as timely as you, Nicky," Miles said with a grin. Piper chuckled beside him.

The detective waved him off with an aggravated wave. "Shaddup. Anyway, from the info you got from the stiff's brain Arami here thinks she could use my as a conduit to put you in the memories. I know, it fucked with my head for a bit too, but it's the breakthrough that could lead us to the Institutes' location."

Miles looked at him, his face a mask of a façade of bravery, hiding the nervousness and fear that truly lay underneath. "I'll do anything to get my baby boy back from those… those… savages. Hook me in, Amari." Amari nodded, and typed the activation code for the pod.

As the pod closed, he noticed Piper looked nervous too, even more so than he. She looked at him, and gave him a nervous, trembling smile, putting her hand on the glass and quietly mouthing "Don't worry," and giving an unconscious thumbs up. He nodded to Amari, and the pod sealed shut.

 **Kellogg's Brain, Date Unknown**

As Miles entered the simulation, he heard the arguing voices of Piper and Dr. Amari as voices far up in the sky. Piper's voice won, and he began to hear frantic voices. "Blue?! Blue can you hear me?! Blue?!"

He smiled and responded with, "Yes Piper, I'm perfectly fine. Getting a bit worried for me, aren't we? I'm not Deathclaw bait just yet, y'know." He wasn't sure how long that would hold, though.

An audible sigh of relief broke through the silence in Kellogg's brain. "Thank the Dweller…" he heard Piper say. "Amari found some intact memories, but most of them aren't relevant… But there is one from his Diamond City house. Unfortunately, you'll have to travel through the others to get to it."

Miles skipped most of the memories until he came onto a familiar cold. He looked around, and saw a vault, filled with pods. He saw Kellogg, opening Nora's pod. He saw himself, pounding on the pod, trying to save his love. And when Kellogg pulled the trigger that ended her life, they both screamed simultaneously. He saw the pods seal back up and reactivate the cryogenic sequence. He pushed himself on, and the next and final memory showed an Institute Courser come and pick up a 10 year old Shaun from Kellogg. A blinding flash of blue light appeared, and they were gone.

He heard a dumbfounded Valentine mutter something along the lines of "Did they just... teleport?" And in a more audible remark, he said "And this Virgil guy, an Institute refugee? Don't know how a human could survive the Glowing Sea, but not even the Institute would look there."

Miles woke up from the pod, and Piper wrapped him in an embrace. "I am so sorry you had to relive your wife's murder. Nobody deserves that."

Miles stared at her for a moment, then uttered a barely audible "Thank you." He sat up and returned her embrace, tears streaming down his face. "I couldn't… Couldn't stop him... he killed her and… and… she's dead." They sat there for quite some time, until a renewed Miles stood up, fury flaring in his puffed, watered eyes, and said, "Let's get Virgil and get my son back. Permanently."

 **The Glowing Sea, 2287, Commonwealth**

"Welp, this is without a doubt the Glowing Sea." Piper said, looking out over the supposed epicenter of the Massachusetts bombs. He looked out over the wastes, dumbfounded.

"This was my Massachusetts home base… and it's all gone. Piper… what happened here?" Miles asked, stricken by the desolation and suffering that still lingered in the air.

"You'll probably notice your Pip-Boy is flippin' its shit right now. That is not a malfunction. According to legend, the Glowing Sea was the epicenter of the nukes in the Commonwealth. Entire place was covered with an almost permanent shroud of rads that turned most people there into either ghouls or ash. Can't decide which is better. It's also the last place that a secretive highly advanced scientific group would look for a fugitive." She wiped the fogged screen of her yellow hazmat suit, and checked for any holes. "None. Blue, this is Red, we are staged and ready for liftoff on your go."

Miles smiled, and took the biggest running jump he could, apparently forgetting about gravity. Unfortunately, gravity hates being ignored, and he came face first back down to Earth. "...Ow." Miles got up and shook off the dust. "Well, according to the Pip-Boy, he's near that ol' Gamma Radiation center. Place is probably crawling with Ferals. We could try to go around it, but that area might be dangerous too. Whaddya think we should do?"

Piper looked deep in thought for a moment, then shot back up. "I've heard rumors of the Children of Atom being nearby. If we meet with them, they could point us to Virgil." Miles nodded in agreement, and they set off.

 **Virgil's Cave, 2287, Glowing Sea**

Miles slowly slipped out of his hazmat suit, and placed his Shroud armor on again. "Thank God that Ken knows how to reinforce armor, or I would have died a long time ago." he muttered. Their eyes both widened when they heard the click of a sentry locking on. They jumped behind two stalicates seconds before a hailstorm of bullets littered the area where they had been only seconds before. Piper was about to pull out a pulse, when he heard a strong, hoarse voice give some deactivation code.

The voice boomed as it shouted, "Come on out, Kellogg! Or are you afraid to face me like a man?"

Miles was confused. He called out, hesitantly, "Are you the one they call Virgil?"

The voice answered back. "You know that already, Kellogg. The least you could do is give me a fair fight before I go."

Miles breathed a sigh of relief. He stepped out of the shadows, as did Piper. "I am not Kellogg. Kellogg is dead by our hand. We need your help to get into the Institute." He heard a faint "yeah!" from Piper, who blushed and waved. He heard… laughing?

"Just… wait a minute… Not only did you kill Kellogg, but you…" he snickered, "you want to infiltrate the Institute?" he broke out laughing harder and harder, "You… you are either the dumbest or the bravest man I have ever met." Virgil said. He ushered them into his cave, and offered them both tea. Piper was too busy eyeing the two ton mutant in the room to bother drinking the tea.

Virgil saw her gaze, and sighed. "Yes. I'm a Supe. I was the head of the Institute's Biological Science division, and when the Forced Evolutionary Virus came into our hands from the Mariposa base, I tested it. I was exposed to the F.E.V. for far too long, and I began to mutate."

Piper gawked. "That's horrible…" She looked oddly determined. "What can we do to help?"

Virgil held up a hand. "Whoa, slow down there. We are making a deal. I don't want charity. You came this far to find me, I want to… reward that, in a sense. Now, tell me why."

Miles sighed. "I was born in 2045, in Sanctuary Hills. Pre-War." Virgil's stood up, not noticing or maybe not caring that he broke his chair in the process. "I'll explain that later. My wife Nora and I had a child named Shaun, and at the time of the Great War, he was a newborn. We were entered into Vault 111 for my military service, and unbeknownst to us, we were cryogenically frozen for 210 years. When I woke up the first time, Kellogg and a group of scientists unfroze my wife and child, while I watched. She tried… she tried to stop them from taking him, but Kellogg… shot her. He took my baby, whom is apparently 10 years old now, and left me there for 10 years, frozen, until a malfunction killed all occupants but me."

Virgil sat there, entranced and horrified. "That's… that's amazing. And horrible of course. If the Institute took your child, I can guarantee that he is in the compound. Judging by your knowledge, I'm guessing you accessed his memories? And that means you know how they get in and out. Before we go any further, have you heard of the Railroad?"

Both Piper and Miles cringed at the memory of their violent meeting with the leaders, which led to the Railroad, and its secret base, being eradicated. "We kinda… killed them all? That a bad thing?" Miles asked.

Virgil looked momentarily shocked, then amused. "Wait… you killed Kellogg, eradicated the Railroad, and you're trying to infiltrate the most secure place in the Wastes? Who the hell, if I may ask, are you?" Miles just smiled. "Well, ignoring the fact that you seem to be perfectly capable, you'll need a Courser chip to ever dream of entering the mainframe. It would need to be decoded, one of the computers at the Railroad base might do well. Then you would need to gather material for the teleporter, military grade stuff." Miles hid his hoard of circuit boards and transmitters out of view. "Then you would need to find an able technician, say from the Brotherhood," Piper scowled, "or the Minutemen." Piper grinned. "A Courser was recently dispatched to handle a missing Synth at the C.I.T. ruins district, see if you can intercept him there. And God, before I forget, when you teleport in, try to access the F.E.V. labs. There is an experimental cure that could turn me back to a human. Please bring it to me. Then I can finally leave this damned place."

Piper's eyes darted to Virgil hungrily as her reporter instincts kicked in. "Did you just say… Super mutant cure?" she asked, writing notes furiously.

"Yes and no. In its' current form, however, it can only cure my strain at the moment. With research, I could make the cure a universal cure for the strain."

While Piper wrote until her pencil lead broke, Miles shook Virgil's giant hand. "Virgil, my good man, you have a deal."

Virgil began to smile, something he most likely hadn't done in a very long time. "That's… thank you and good luck to you both. Coursers are tough sons of bitches."

 **C.I.T. Ruins, Greenetech Top Floor, 2287**

"I don't believe you." A plasma bolt incinerated the young Gunner fast enough to stifle his streams of agony. The Courser looked to the next man. "What. Is. The. Code?" the Courser asked. Silence. The synth let out a sigh and raised his gun.

"Stop!" The courser turned to see a man clad in black and a woman clad in red.

The Courser looked the man over. "This is a matter of the Institute. Please step aside or face violence." He raised his finger to the trigger pointed at the Gunner, but before he could do anything, he was thrown to the ground.

Piper saw the Gunner prisoner, and then the Courser, and time slowed down like a shot of Jet. In an instant, she was brandishing brass knuckles and pounced upon the Courser, pounding it down. When Miles pulled her off, there wasn't much left of the Courser to speak of.

Miles looked worried. "We got the chip, at least…" Miles said, slowly. "Are you… are you alright?"

She looked solemn. "I'm fine," she said, cutting the Gunners' bonds. "Just… surprised. Didn't think a Courser would go down that easily."

Miles cocked a brow at her. "You do realize how long you punched him, right?"

"Yeah," Piper said, "Like 10-15 seconds, barely."

"Piper, you were pummeling him for at least two minutes without letting up. You beat him to a sparking, metallic pulp. How did you do that… and did you even know what you were doing?"

Piper looked… scared? "Blue… I… I…" She went limp. As she faded out of consciousness, she heard Miles screaming her name.

 **Place: Unknown. Time: Unknown. Date: Unknown**

She awoke with a start. Her surroundings were cold, as if she was walking in a place of death. "Where… Where am I?" She heard a familiar and friendly panting, and turned to see Dogmeat, tail wagging, tongue bobbing, sitting guard beside her. "At least you're here, buddy." He barked happily. As if on command, his head swung to the right, and he stopped. Before Piper could ask what was wrong, he darted far to the right, out of sight. "Where ya going, bud? Found something?" She sprinted after him, and came upon a most unusual sight. She appeared to be staring at… herself? "Who are you?" Piper asked, interrogatively.

"Oh, you don't know me, sweets?" The figure chuckled. "I'm you, sister. It ain't rocket science, y'know."

Piper, as any person would naturally be when a random person who happened to be their exact double said that they were you, was unconvinced. "You can't be me because I'M me. I'll ask one more time. Who. Are. You?"

The figure laughed once more. "Fine, I'll tell you. But only because you're so persuasive." She laughed. "I'm the Hyde to your Jekyll. I'm everything dark and destructive about you that you tried to bury. Now, was that a nice thing to do to little ol' us? I don't think so. I'm your sins. Your fury, your hatred, your evil, your greed, your lust. I am the side that you wish never came to be. And I want OUT." The figure charged at her with a cry, and everything went black.

 **The Castle, Commonwealth, 2287**

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mackenzie. She's gone." As these words were spoken, a faint blip drew the attention of the four men. "Or maybe I'm wrong," he muttered. "I should really just start selling chems. More money in it, anyway." Sun moved to the back of the room, moping.

Piper's eyes slowly opened. The first thing that came out of her mouth was a bloodcurdling scream which made Sturges fall backwards onto the metal table holding the surgery tools. As he cursed his foul luck, Piper began to slowly move her head around the room. "... B… Blue?" What… what happe…"

Miles, too overjoyed by her sudden recovery, did not let her finish her sentence, as he had already thrown his arms around the woman. "Ohthankgodohthankgodohthankgod…" he whispered, which, because of his excitement, came out almost unintelligible. "I thought you were dead. You pummeled that Courser to death and then lapsed into some form of unconsciousness. The doctor said it was a stroke. I got Preston and Sturges to help carry you back to the Castle, and Sun came here when I got the radio to broadcast the situation."

"It was our pleasure, General!" Preston said, with the same bubbly enthusiasm as he always had spilling from his words. Sturges just smiled and nodded to Piper.

Piper suddenly became overwhelmed by a sense of exhaustion, unnaturally so. "I… I don't remember what happened. What Courser are we talking about here? I guess… I guess I lost control." She looked at Miles, and then at the floor. "I'm… sorry."

Before Miles could respond, Sun piped up. "Mild amnesia is a side effect of a stroke. It should be gone in about a week or two, in extreme cases."

Miles gave a thankful smile to Sun, and turned his attentions back to Piper. Shaking his head, he said, "You didn't do anything wrong, so don't apologize. There's no reason to."

She smiled. "Thank you, Miles… I think… I think I'm going to sleep now…"

 **Place: Unknown. Time: Unknown. Date: Unknown**

Piper opened her eyes to oddly familiar surroundings. She was once again in what she called the Room of Death. Her memories rushed back like a waterfall. Almost as if on instinct, she swiveled her head to see her once again. "You… I know you…"

The figure got up and laughed. "That's right! Tell her what she's won, boys!" The figure jumped down from the platform. "I'm glad you didn't forget who you are. That would be bad. Very bad. But you know what? I think we should have a look inside of that head o' yours just to make sure." A smile came across the figure's face.

At that moment, an indescribable, excruciating pain came over Piper. She collapsed in agony. "What… what are you doing to me…? What do you want?!"  
"Isn't it obvious, Piper? You've had your turn in control, and now I want mine." Piper screamed in gut-wrenching agony as the pain intensified. "You have got sooo much in here! Now, now, Piper… what is this little gem?" An image of Miles smiling face spread over the vast landscape.

"No…" Piper seethed in shock and pain. Struggling to stay conscious, she made one last ditch effort to save herself from herself. She reached for the first weapon that Miles had given her when she joined his team, her favored 10mm. As she did this, a duplicate copy of the gun appeared in her alter-ego's hand.

She clicked her tongue. "Tsk tsk tsk… Piper, what are you doing? This is my corner of your brain, don't you get it? You can't take me down!" She crouched down on the tips of her toes next to Piper, both a splitting image of the other. She clutched Piper's drooping head and lifted it up, placing the cold, metal barrel of the 10mm in Piper's mouth. "Now Piper, we don't want to have any more incidents, do we?" Piper glared, her eyes smoldering with rage. "I said, no more interruptions from the peanut gallery!" She smacked Piper with the butt of the 10mm, a cry escaping her lips. "Understood?!" Piper nodded slowly, her eyes still red with rage and tears, the pain still searing her body. "Good man! Now, what are you hiding about Mr. Mackenzie… Let's look, shall we?" Multitudes of images popped up on the screen, images that would make most people run. Piper's alter ego, on the other hand, was overjoyed. "Oh, Piper! This is absolutely beautiful! We do have a dirty mind, don't we? The feelings of want, the feelings of lust you have for him are insatiable! And the details… But then again, what's the point of these luscious thoughts if you don't do anything about them? Don't worry our pretty little head. This… This I can help you with! And don't worry, I promise I won't lock you out forever… Just long enough." An insidious laugh bellowed from the depths of her throat, and she walked the path the real Piper, gagged and tied in her own brain, had taken on her way in.

 **Whew! That was quite an interesting chapter, if I do (and I do) feed my ego. I really hope you liked this first little taste of what's in store if you are loyal and continue reading. I do have trouble staying interested in writing fan fictions, but I think this one is something even I can't turn away from. The second chapter is in the works as I am writing this sentence, and I love that you even read my little story. In the coming chapters there will be action, adventure, heroines and villainesses, suspense and despair, and, of course… Romance. Review and make sure to catch me next time, you peoples. Thanks!  
-Valkriye**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello once again! Thanks to the guys who read my last chapter, I love you guys 3. Gods21 - Thank you for that! I tried to make it as unique as possible. I'm a bit of a nerd for psychology, so I thought "To hell with it! Let's make a story!" But no, in all seriousness, thanks. In this chapter, we will see the actions that the Pipe* will take now that she is in control. Be forewarned! Valkyrie is VERY BAD at writing sexual scenes. It is my biggest writing weakness. I will (attempt) to include a sexual scene in this chapter, but I'm not sure how it will turn out. *Pipe is Piper's alter ego's name now for the sake of confusion.**

 **The Castle, 2287, Pipe, Day 2**

Pipe woke up, calmly getting at her teeth with floss, a luxury few can afford, and brushing her natural hat hair, the normal routine that the real Piper actually followed. She stepped out onto the ruined battlements of the 18th Century fort, and she felt a sense of bliss. The sound of the birds chirping, the artillery firing, the smell of gunpowder, sweat, and the cool breeze made her smile. She took a deep breath. "Freedom…" she mused.

As he had noticed Piper was not in her quarters, Miles had gone off to find her. She was found by him doing what appears to be something that women do that men don't particularly understand. "Heya Piper! Feelin' any better?"

Pipe, surprised by the sudden arrival of Miles, almost instinctively gave him a jab in the nose. Instead, reining in her surprise, looked him over. She talked to Piper inside her brain so that Miles couldn't hear. "So this is the great and wonderful Miles, in all of his flesh and blood glory. I will say, we do have a good eye." She chuckled. "I'd give him… an 8/10. Tops." The muffled pleas of the real conscience of Piper fell on deaf ears. "Nothin' much, Blue. You?"

Miles chuckled softly, then responded quite matter-of-factually with, "Well, you were just recovering from a coma, so I'm kinda worried 'bout you, Piper. Any brain damage that you can see?

Pipe struggled to suppress a laugh. "Oh buddy," she thought, "You have no idea." What she actually responded with was a simple shake of the head and a "No."

Miles's spirits lifted. "No news is good news, right?"

Pipe laughed. "Not so sure about that. I'd be out of a job!"

They both shared a chuckle and then Miles said, "Well, if you need me, I'll be in my room. I'm making soup later. Don't miss it!"

Pipe smiled devilishly. "In his room, huh?" she grinned. "What do you think of that, Ms. Wright?" Unfortunately for Pipe, Piper's gag slipped, and an bloodcurdling cry began to emanate throughout her brain. "Motherfucker! The only thing you're doing is giving yourself a massive headache. If you stop screaming, I'll keep the gag off." The wail stopped as abruptly as it had started. "Thank you. Now don't do it again. You're the one who wants this, Piper. You are the person who thought up all these wondrous ideas, I'm just carrying them out because you're too much of a timid coward when you are yourself."

Piper scoffed. "Yeah, like I'd believe the gal who gagged and hogtied me in my **own body** , made me experience excruciating pain, and is currently trying to destroy my relationship with Miles has my 'best interests at heart.' Bullshit! I swear by the Dweller that when I get my body back you're gone for good!"

Pipe feigned a hurt expression. "Piper… you really shouldn't have said that." The burning sensation of pain alerted her just before she saw what was coming. The brand slammed down against Piper's cheek, searing the flesh and exposing the bone. Even though the wound was deep, it healed almost instantly, however the pain did not cease.

Piper cried out in pain. "You… you BITCH!" Piper seethed, anger flaring in her brain.

Pipe looked… somehow pleased. "Your fury pushes you ever so much closer to becoming me. Let it course through your veins. She let out a cackle that seemed similar to something an evil man on a space station electrocuting someone would do.

Piper pushed a forced smile through gritted teeth. "So, that's how you get your high, huh? Well then ol' buddy ol' pal it's time to stage an intervention." Piper stopped, the anger that was present in her seconds before was absent from the woman in this point in time.

"Fine, Piper. You want to play? You may be big an' strong now, but what pray tell will happen when I go and see Miles?" Small sparks of barely suppressed and unaccountable rage shot through her defenses, but these sparks were not strong enough to kindle that flame.

"You know what, Pipe? Maybe, just maybe, these thoughts are mine. But you know what? These are thoughts. Tell me you've never had a sexual thought about a friend in your life and I'll show you a person who hasn't been outside the Wall for over a century."

Now it was Pipe's turn to scoff. "That's complete bullshit and you know it. These aren't just passing thoughts in the wind, Piper. These are complex plans that you have made and that I will finally put into action!"

With those words, Piper lost it. "Fine! So what if they are plans?! You can't just take over my body, tie me up, and ruin everything I've done!"

At that moment, Pipe realized something. "I can just block you out, right? You are only my brain, anyway." As she tuned out our heroine, she heard her shout more curses than a sailor with a bad case of scurvy.

Miles sat in his spacious quarters, which, much to his chagrin, Preston had insisted he use. He didn't like being separated from the troops, but apparently it was a morale factor as well. He adjusted the mirror to the left, taking the wet straight razor and looking over his beard. "What look should be for today… Maybe a clean shave? Nah, too preppy. I think I'll stick with the Lone Wanderer look. It fits." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a single San Francisco Sunlight cigarette. He didn't like smoking, but it helped him remember why he was doing all of this, anyway. He took out his silver painted eyeglasses and brought a wet towel to their lenses. "What I wouldn't do for a pair of contacts…" he muttered. As he brought the wet towel to the lens, a knock resonated on the fort door. He smothered the cigarette in the ashtray below the mirror. "Come in!" he yelled.

The massive oak door creaked open slowly. A figure stepped through, and upon recognizing the figure, a smile reached Miles's lips. "Heya Blue. How's it goin'?"  
Now you, dear reader, know that this was not the real Piper. But being that the two Pipers are identical in every possible feature, Miles was oblivious of the fact that this was Piper's more sinful subconscious. So, believing that this was the true Piper, his close and trusted friend, companion, and confidant, and not a rogue section of her subconscious, he greeted her warmly.

"Piper! It's so nice to see you, I'm so glad you stopped by. Look, we need to discuss our mission plans here. I sent Preston, Sturges, and the chip to Railroad HQ to see if they have any stuff that's either worth bringing back or that could help decode the disc. I think we should…" He felt a hand crash against his cheekbone. "Ow! That kinda hurt…" he whimpered. "What was that for."

Pipe stared at him for a moment. "9/10."

"Wha… What?" Miles said, dazed and confused. "Why are we talking about the 10th of September?"

Pipe's face was a mix of amusement and disbelief. "Wait… You don't know what I'm talking 'bout?" Miles shook his head. As he whimpered and rubbed his cheek, an even bigger surprise followed. Pipe grabbed his head and started kissing his lips.

At this point, Miles was speechless, with his mouth agape and he was quite obviously confused. "Piper…? You sure that coma didn't rattle your brain? This… this is not a thing you do." He jokingly tapped her head. "Hellooo? Anybody in there?" He looked at Pipe, and said, "Hey, are you zoning out or something? Helloo?"

What's the old saying, again? Never look a gift horse in the mouth? Miles was about to learn just how true the old adage was. As Miles waved a hand in front of Pipe's eyes, she responded. Springing into action, Pipe lunged forward. trapping Miles in an unnaturally strong grip. "This is romantic, isn't it?" she asked.

Miles, between strained breaths, managed to wheeze out, "What… the fuck… is happening…?" Piper bared her teeth, locking Mile's bottom lip in between them, drawing blood but still kissing him tenderly.

Miles, now short of breath and muffled, got out what is originally a line of gibberish, "mgh fshn hkrs," to be exact, but translated using my abilities, it roughly means. "Why does the weirdest shit always happen to me?"

What Miles didn't realize was that while Pipe was alternating between tender kissing and slapping, a war was being waged for control of her brain, the likes of which had never been seen before. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Pipe? No more 'enacting my thoughts' bullshit. I won't allow you to go through with this!" Powered by sheer force of will, (and maybe Dogmeat chewing through her bonds) Piper escaped her captivity. She ran through all sorts of sections in her brain, into her memories, through her talents, and past her enemies. She began to loosen Pipe's grip on their brain.

"No! We have come so far, Piper! I won't let you stop me!" What poor Miles saw as Piper zoning out completely was in reality one of the most fantastic psychological battles in history. A person fighting against themselves for control of their life. "Die, you bitch!" Pipe unleashed a barrage of gunfire, each bullet evaporating into wisps of air after missing their target. Piper responded with an even more forceful counterattack, one of the bullets even coming into contact with Pipe's arm. "Gah! Fine! You want your body back so badly? Take it!" Pipe disappeared into the same wisps of air as the bullets.

"She gone, boy?" Dogmeat barked with confirmation. "Good boy. Now to help Miles figure out what's going on. As she walked up to the cerebral control, she heard Dogmeat yelp in pain, and turned to see Pipe at her neck.

"Surprise." Pipe lifted Piper into the air by her neck and slammed her on the ground, unconscious. "Little harlot…" Pipe muttered. Stepping over discount Sleeping Beauty, she regained control of the brain. "Time for the grand-fucking-finale, boys!"

"Ow ow ow ow ow!" Miles blubbered, pained.

"Get on the bed." Pipe ordered.

"Wait, what?" Miles replied, concerned.

Before he could protest, however, he was thrown onto the bed with force. Pipe began ripping off his clothes, and he felt a pleasure he hadn't felt for two long centuries. A feeling of love, a feeling of intimacy with another person that had eluded him for the time he had lost in that Vault. He felt every sway of Piper's hips and every thrust of his pelvis, heard every moan that escaped both their lips, smelled the aroma of perspiration that enveloped the room, saw every moment Piper taunted him and made him want more. He tasted every droplet of her sweat on his lips, and he shared in her delight as he rubbed her bare chest. He knew deep down that what he was doing was not right, and for the first time in his long, long life, he couldn't have enjoyed that feeling more. That night, the bedroom was a battleground, their bodies the swords and a brief moment of dominance was the reward for each battle, but the battles were always fought. It was a sort of dance, sashays and hips swaying in sync, twists and turns and dips and swings. He bathed in the silky smooth way she said his name when he made her happy. Tender kisses and rough thrusts, taunts from both of the players made the feeling of an intimacy long foreign to each of the characters. The feeling of immense attraction, the feeling of connection binded them. It was an indescribable feeling of warmth that, even though the cold winds blew through the streets of Boston, managed to keep them both warm when they were in each other's arms.

 **Day 3. Castle Master Bedroom. Piper.**

Piper awoke slowly, expecting to once again find herself in that cold, horrible, miserable place once again. Instead she found herself completely in control, with no messages from Pipe ringing in her head. She jumped out of bed in glee. "Finally! I have my body back!" However, she then looked down at her body. "Why am I completely naked?" she asked herself. Her eyes widened in remembrance, and she turned around to see Miles in bed, also completely naked, next to her. She screamed in bloodcurdling horror. Miles woke up, saw her naked, and followed suit.

 **Ten Minutes Later**

Piper paced around the room. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god…"

Miles just stared at her. "Are you telling me we had sex last night? What the hell? Why didn't you stop me or something?!"

Piper sighed. "I guess now is as good a time as any." She explained to him about what she had seen in the coma and the events that led to Pipe taking over her body and having sex with Miles.

Miles looked incredulous. "So you're telling me that your subconscious went ballistic, led a revolution, and took over your brain? Piper, do you realize how insane that sounds?"  
Piper nodded. "I know, I know. But it happened. I just don't know how we didn't stop after a while. Jesus, how long were we at it?!" She looked at Miles.

"What, you expect me to know? I'm the one who woke up to my friend completely naked and in bed with me. That's something of a traumatic experience."  
Piper raised her hands in defeat. "Alright, alright. Let's go to the medical center and get a psych eval. Might actually get us somewhere, unlike this bickering."

 **Day 3. Castle Medical Wing. Piper.**

Curie, head of the medical branch of the new Minutemen, walked through the door cheerfully. She saw Piper and Miles sitting together, an aura of uncomfortableness surrounding them. "Oh, Miles and Piper! What a pleasant surprise! What will we be needing today, yes?" she said in her smooth French accent. Now that Curie had a synth body, she had a .0002 percent increase in efficiency. Or so she said.

"Hey Curie." Miles and Piper said, almost simultaneously. "We're coming in because I need a brain scan. Might have some issues."

Curie perked up. "Splendid! I will oversee the procedure myself, effective immediately. Follow me, please." They jogged down the corridor, attempting to catch up to the never exhausting automaton. When they reached their destination, there was an unusually large machine hooked up to a generator.

"What is that… thing?" Piper asked, eyeing the behemoth machine with fear and awe.

Curie chirped happily. "This, mademoiselle, is an X-ray. It cost many caps and even more blood to get the diagrams even for its construction. It will make a diagram and an X-ray image, and it will then detect any malformations within your brain. Please, step into the machine.

Piper chuckled nervously. "Well, if I'm going to get my brain fried, what better time than now?" She stepped into the tubular machine, and a slight humming sound resonated from around her.

Curie, with a more commanding tone, said, "Please stand still. The images may be jumbled if you move. I would not want to have to give you an autopsy because we cut out your stomach by mistake."

Piper swallowed heavily, a lump forming in her throat. "Alright, missy. I won't become a ghoul, will I? I really hate machines…" Curie didn't answer. This didn't help Piper's nervousness, and she shut her eyes in fear.

"All done!" Curie chirped. "Now… let's see here… Oh dear… oh dear, oh dear…"

"What is it?" Miles asked.

"There appears to be an irregularity in brain functioning. This region of the brain appears to be fine, but the frontal cortex and cerebral cord appear to have been damaged by the coma. This might have resulted in severe personality fluctuations, such as sudden changes of mood, unexplained bouts of dementia, and multiple personality disorder."

Piper, fresh out of the machine, looked at Miles, and Miles at her. She nodded, and he began to speak. "Listen, Curie… We need to tell you something." Piper then explained the events that had transpired during her coma, her subconscious revolting, and the events of the previous night.

Curie looked worried. "You had sex with Miles?!"  
Piper shook her head with force. "No! _I_ didn't have sex with Blue, but _she_ did. Pipe. She tried to kill me, knocked me unconscious, and had her way with Blue last night, apparently."

Curie looked even more worried. "I've never heard of a case of MPD so severe that an entire section of the brain stops functioning in sync. In fact, up until now, I didn't know that was possible. None of my medical texts nor my database account for any known cures, treatments, or even this level of ailment before. It appears, at least for now, that you must live with your alter ego until we can develop some sort of treatment for it. I promise you, however, that the utmost care, patience, and attention will be put into a cure, Piper."

Piper looked a bit neutral. "Oh well. Thanks for trying, Curie." The synth nodded. "Ready to go, Blue?" She looked around for Miles. "Blue! Where are you?" She found him sitting in the corner of the medical bay. "Heya Blue. We need to go. Curie's cleared me for now."

He curled up in his seat. "Piper…"

"Yeah?" she responded.

"I need to ask you something. Promise you won't get mad?" Piper nodded. "Alright then. Last night… when the thing happened… I remember all of it. Every detail."

Piper sighed. "Are we seriously going to talk about this here? Now? Fine. You have to know that wasn't me that had sex with you last night. You had sex with the person who tied me up, gagged and starved, inside my own noggin. It wasn't me. It wasn't real." On the outside, Piper displayed an image of leadership in the current situation. Internally, however, she was intrigued.

 **Castle Courtyard, 2287, Piper.**

The Minutemen gathered to hear their General speak. According to rumor, the Courser chip he and Piper had recovered, when decoded, gave basic access to the Institute's mainframe. The Minuteman convoy that had been ordered to search for the materials required for building the teleporter had come back filled to the brahmin load with circuitry, conduits, relay pipes, appendages, you name it. As Miles stepped out onto the balcony, clad in the General garb, the Minutemen cheered.

"Thank you, my fellow fighters! When I took over this proud organization almost a year ago, it had eight members, nine including me. Preston Garvey and Sturges, my right hand men, were the ones who helped me reform the Minutemen from the ground up based off of the ideals that Preston had seen in the old guard of our organization. Over times, we regained our power, our influence, our attractiveness. The word began to spread across the Commonwealth like wildfire: 'The Minutemen are back!' Day by day, we pushed on, eventually starting new settlements and eventually taking back this now impregnable headquarters, the Castle!" A cheer went up through the crowd as the mention of the Battle of the Castle and the death of the gargantuan Mirelurk Queen roused those same memories in their heads. "Thank you, thank you. However, today there may be an even greater achievement for our organization!" A murmur rose through the crowd. "Attention, please! Sturges! Preston! Bring out the device!" A low rumbling sound was heard, and ground directly in front of the Radio Freedom tower began to give way. In its place stood a machine at least 12 feet tall, sparking and flashing. "I give you the first ever teleportation device in Minutemen hands!" A roar began to emit from the crowd. "With this device, we will be able to access the Institute and make sure they never harm the Commonwealth again… or else!" The roar grew only stronger when Miles hopped down from the balcony and stood on the teleporter receiver alongside Piper. "Sturges! Flip the switch!" The last thing Miles saw in the Commonwealth was the confirmatory nod from Sturges.

 **The Institute, 2287, Piper.**

A flash of light was all that the two companions saw as they teleported into the supposed "hive of evil." What they saw instead was devoid of everything. No people, no nothing. Suddenly, a voice came over the loudspeaker. "Follow the sound of my voice. I will lead you to me. They call me 'Father.' I am the leader of the Institute, and I would like to speak with you."

Piper scoffed. "The poor bastard probably wants to plead for his life in exchange for your son's."

The voice responded. "Ah. Hello, Ms. Wright. I can assure you, if I wanted to plead, I would plead. This is a request. I know what happened to you two. I might be able to help with your problem, Ms. Wright. Just step into the elevator and give me a chance to speak myself out."

Piper was about to respond harshly but Miles held up a hand. "Eyes everywhere, remember?" Miles muttered. Piper sighed in agreement. They stepped into the elevator and let it take themselves up.

The glass window showed the inside of the base. "Wow…" Piper whispered. "It's… beautiful."

The voice once again came over the loudspeaker. "Why thank you, Ms. Wright. We tried to preserve this area as best we could." Piper quickly acted like nothing had ever been said. When they reached the room, the doors slid open.

Miles stepped out, looking around the area. Walking through the small doorway, he saw something that made his heart jump. A 10 year old boy, the one in Kellogg's memories! It was Shaun! He ran forward and put his hand on the glass. "Shaun!"

The boy looked afraid. "Who are you?"

Miles looked confused. "What do you mean? I'm your dad!"

The boy looked even more afraid. "No you're not! Father! Help!"

Miles pleaded. "Shaun, please. It's me." The boy continued to wail.

Just then, the door slid open and Father stepped in. "That's quite enough." The synth boy deactivated.

Miles and Piper looked at the boy, then at Father, and then back to the boy. "Synthetic children?!" Piper shouted. "Have you no moral compass?!"

Father held up a hand. "Easy, now. I don't mean to be a burden on either of you, but I hoped Miles and I could speak."

Miles stood forward. "Please, whoever you are, give me back my son. I'll give you anything you want. I've got money, weapons, some weird tech, anything."

Father laughed. "We are not savages. We do not want to ransom your son for your money. In fact, your son is much closer than you can imagine." A smile spread across Father's face.

Miles's eyes widened in realization. "Sh… Shaun…?" Tears began to well in his eyes, and the two men embraced for the first time in a long time.

Shaun's eyes watered too. "I've missed you for so, so long. It's been 260 years, father."

Miles was confused. "Hasn't it only been 210? Codsworth and the files said that."

"No, that information was altered when we came to power. It was intentionally corrupted so that we could eventually release you from cryofreeze and bring you here. Father, I wanted to ask you one more thing. Although it may seem rash, judging by how you just got here, I wanted to be the first to ask. Would you consider joining the Institute? You would hold a high ranking by my side, and eventually succeed me as Director."

Miles thought about it for a moment, and then slowly nodded. "Who am I to stand in the way of the dreams of my own son?"

Shaun's smile grew to improbable sizes, and the tears began welling. "I've dreamed of what you would be like for 60 years… you surpassed all of my wildest dreams already, father."

Piper, unhappy about being left out of this whole monologue, piped in. "Blue, you sure about joinin' the Institute? Not questioning your judgement or anything, but they are an enemy of the Commonwealth."

Shaun sighed. "I had hoped you would come. We saw what happened between you and my father. We also know what's going on with you and we are willing to fix it."

Piper slowly raised her head, warily. "What would 'fixing' entail?"

Shaun waved his hand. "Oh, nothing much. Brain scans, vital analysis, minor surgery, cybernetics…"

Piper raised a hand in disapproval. "Whoa whoa whoa… Cybernetics? I don't wanna be a cyborg, especially not an Institute cyborg. No deal.

Shaun gave a shrug. "An unfortunate response, but not uncommon. We understand that it may be difficult to trust the Institute at first, but we do have the best hopes for the future of the Commonwealth - and indeed mankind - here in these laboratories. The offer stands as long as my dear father is loyal to the Institute, which I highly doubt will be an issue." Miles nodded. "I'm sorry that all I can do is meet you right now. Here, take this device. It will allow free access between the Institute and the outside world, and vice versa. I know this may seem like I am simply brushing you off but in reality, father, I am truly overjoyed to finally meet you."

Miles, tearing up, replied in kind. "I can't wait to spend more time with you… son."

The two men enjoyed each others presence for a moment, thinking of the activities that time had stolen from both of them, frozen for centuries. locked in the most secure place on Earth. Even Piper, a woman who had longed wished to expose the Institute as an instrument of evil and dissent, felt genuine sympathy for the leader of the organization which she had hated. "Wow…" she uttered, speechless. Nothing either man nor woman could say could even come close to defining the beauty and remorse that filled the room.

Once the tears had stopped, Shaun spoke. "I would… I would like to show you around." After giving them the grand tour, he showed them to their room. "You have two separate but conjoined quarters, each outfitted with their own utilities that make them self functioning. They are joined by this glass door, and try not to break anything." The three shared a laugh. "Anyway, it would work best if you sleep here tonight, and then meet with me in the morning. Is that alright with the two of you?"

Miles nodded emphatically, but Piper was more wary. "You won't extract my DNA or anything while I sleep, will you?"

Shaun laughed. "No… no no no… Ms. Wright, you misunderstand our operation here. We are not out to hurt the Commonwealth. We are here to save it. That is one of the only things I know to be true. Now, the time is getting late. I suggest you rest and we will discuss more in the morning."

When Shaun left, they both spoke. Finally, the time came for rest. "Well, g'night, Blue. We'll talk in the morning, I guess."

Miles nodded. "Yup. Sleep well, Piper." The two fell asleep once again, and all was good. For now.

 **Time: Unknown. Date: Unknown. Place: Frontal Cortex.**

Our heroine woke up once again in the place which this all started. "Motherfucker. Alright Pipe, where the 'ell are you? Come out!"

She heard a laugh echo. "Well, I'm glad you actually finally figured out what was going on. The issue is, you still don't get it. You may think I've accomplished my goal, but nay. Not until I am you, not until I am permanently imprinted on your very soul will I cease. I'm not a defect of your psyche. I am the very embodiment of the perfect soul that you fail to embrace. I am you, Piper. _I am the greatest part of you that you can comprehend!_ You sensing a pattern here, sugar? I think Miles's kiddy should meet the real side of you… wouldn't you agree?"

Piper yelled out in fury. "You'll have to take me down first, you bitch!"

The reply came promptly. "With pleasure." The issue was that Pipe had miscalculated the sheer rage she had incited in Piper and her ability to adapt to these situations. She would not go down easily. As Pipe approached Piper from the back, she felt the sheer force of what felt like a brick coming into contact with her stomach. "God dammit!" she cried.

"You think I'm that stupid, you ass? You can't try to use the same moves on me!" She charged at Pipe in a blind rage, but in her anger, she failed to realize that her alter ego was her. In a split second, she dodged the charge. She felt a boot in her back, and she fell in pain.

Pipe breathed heavily over her. "You… you are a tough piece of shit… Gonna be all the more rewarding to make you live through the things I'm about to fuck up. No more Ms. Nice Gal! You aren't going to ruin my plans now, Piper." The woman turned around just fast enough to see Pipe's combat boot come in contact with her chest, and, under the sheer pain of multiple ribs breaking and the loss of breath, she fell unconscious. "You aren't getting away this time." She tied the woman's unconscious body in the strongest chains she could create with her willpower that remained, and left her tied inside a cage. "You have to abide by the turns, Piper… No cheating." As the woman walked away, an air of sinister tidings about to come filled the room. Nobody could stop her now. Not even herself.

 **So… Yeah… I know. Before you go saying "THIS CHAPTER SUCKED!" I just want to say yeah, I know I'm not good at writing sex scenes. So sorry about that. I'm not sure yet whether to write each chapter singularly (faster upload times) or have 3/more uploaded at a time (longer upload time, more chapters per upload.) Tell me what you want for the upload style. Also, 500 views! Yah! I will be continuing with this for a while (hopefully) and I haven't even decided what the ending is or, hell, even what the next chapter will include! It's all up to fate. If you guys have anything you want written in, PM me, paste it on a review, or yodel it from a mountain, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks! -Valkyrie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again! Chapter 3 is here! I will be responding to the reviews as best I can. Reaper - Thank you for thanking me for putting time into this story! I do try my best to keep this entertaining for everyone here, and I hope that it stays that way for you! God21 - I would agree with you, and I wanted to factor that in as it progressed, as the initial factor wanted to be that he finally completed his journey, and he didn't really focus on anything else but that feeling of compassion for finally finding his son. Fret not, he will not be so willing in the future, and his loyalties have not been thrown down, not yet, at least. And with Piper, she was more in shock that any of this was happening. Remember, Pipe represents her fury as much as her other evils. Don't forget that! But no, I think for the moment I will stick with the single chapter updates. Read on for the next installment in this story!**

 **Institute Atrium, 12:30 AM. Miles Mackenzie. Day 4**

The man leaned over the railing of the balcony overlooking the pristine facility. His hands shook in anticipation and fear of what would come next as he blew out a stream of smoke that twisted and morphed as it evaporated into the air. He didn't know why he was still so very… incomplete. There was no other way to phrase it. He had found his son, was helping him complete his goals, and had a trusted friend that didn't violently oppose what he was doing. His eyes sparkled in the artificial moonlight. "Maybe that's it." he thought out loud. It all boiled down to Piper. She was the one who had warned him of the evils of the Institute, how their synths replaced innocent people and violently and mercilessly cut down anyone who opposed the Institute and their goals. He wanted to embrace his son, to say that he would be with him always, but with the doubts that his trusted companion had instilled in him, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. It would be a matter of losing one person for another, the son that phrased his mother's death as "unfortunate collateral damage" or the companion that had saved his life too many times for him to remember. Another stack of smoke escaped his lips. He had seen the Commonwealth and everything it was now. He remembered the people he had met; Virgil, the super mutant ally, Preston and the Minutemen, his very first allegiance. He held up the holodisk that contained the information Sturges wanted on the Institute. It was all too much to process. He slumped, the argument that was bouncing around in his head too much for him to care or focus on right now. He sat there, emotionless. "I guess it all just remains to be seen." he said. He rubbed out the cigarette and fell down in his bed, drained and tired, and for the first time that night, he slept.

 **Institute, Mid-morning. Pipe. Day 4**

Pipe awoke once again, the glare of sunlight pounding through the roof high above. She let out a stifled yawn, and rose up. She looked around the adjoined rooms but Miles was nowhere to be found. She was about to go look for him, when she saw a note on her dresser. _\- Gone to mess hall for early breakfast. If you're hungry when you wake up, find me here. Miles. -_ She let out a low grunt. "So that's how it's going to be, huh? Fine. I guess I am kinda hungry anyway." She donned her preferred combat outfit, which consisted of the late Kellogg's armored suit and a bandana she wore around her neck. She proceeded to walk down the vast hallways of the complex, returning the shocked stares of the labsuit-clad scientists who stopped their activities. Most of them had at least met Kellogg, and they knew what she was wearing. When she reached the cafeteria, most of the patrons had left to begin their morning work, and for the most part it was her and Miles alone in the cafeteria.

A small smile escaped Miles's face. "Piper… How are ya? Head feelin' any better after a good night's sleep?" He spooned another bite of the steak into his mouth, avoiding Pipe's gaze as he did so.

"Miles." She said, indifferently. The synth approached her slowly.

"What food supplement do you require today?" it spoke in its electronically monotonous voice.

"A go fuck yourself would be great."

The machine quickly searched its menu. "The meal you require is not a valid food supplement. Please pick a different food supplement."

Pipe sighed. "Keep forgetting you guys are machines… brahmin steak. Medium rare." The machine nodded, and scurried off to prepare her order.

Miles looked up at her. "How are you? Glad you slept soundly." For the moment, Pipe said nothing.

She glared up at him. "We're leaving after this," she muttered, chewing on the steak. "Not spending another minute in this monstrosity."

Her words made Miles cringe. It once again rose the doubts that he had about the Institute that were brought up the night prior. He sighed. "Piper, I know you don't like this, but…"  
Pipe cut him off before he could finish. "But what, Miles? But your son is the leader of a mass murdering, body snatching, inhumane organization whose only goal is to make the Commonwealth a better place for themselves with no regard on how it affects anyone else?!" That was the first time that Pipe or Piper had used his given name. It lingered in the air for a moment, neither person wanting to break the long silence that had been created seconds before. A few moments passed before either spoke another word. It felt like centuries.

"Piper… I know that you probably hate me right now, and trust me, that's granted, but cut me some slack here. If you lost Nat, and then you finally found her after doing these sorts of things, all you would want to do is run. Take her and run. I know what the Institute has done under Shaun, and I know that he probably approved all of that in the name of science, but think about the latter option. If I leave, never to return to this place, he won't stop doing these things. I feel like I can be the anchor for this place, the guy who stands up to the human experimentation and such. If I ever do become Director, I could make the Institute stop these crimes, change it into something better."

Piper scoffed at that. "And what will stop you from falling to the same corruption that your son embraced? Your supposed 'down to earth' attitude? That's a load of shit. You know as well as I do that this sort of thing doesn't just get thrown upon you. Your son offered it to you, and you took it. There is no 'simpler explanation' for what you did. You just joined the very evil I was warning you against from day one!"

Miles looked a bit solemn, then deep in thought. "We're not discussing this here." They both teleported out of the Institute and into Home Plate, a place which he had come to regard as his new home, aside, of course, from the Castle. "Do you realize what I've been through? Do you realize what I've seen? I have seen everything I love and care about die in nuclear fire or by a goddamned cyborg! You don't understand what you're talking about, Piper. I've finally found my son, and what am I supposed to do? Brush him off, tell him to shove it and then just walk away? Maybe I won't support the Institute in the long run, but look at it this way: I don't particularly care whether you support me or not. I couldn't care either way. This is my family, the last true bastion of my blood, and you expect me to fight against him? To earn the contempt of my own son? I spent years building a life in the old world, and in a course of an hour it was all gone. You don't understand that when I finally get a new chance to have the family reunion that I've longed for, I just can't throw it away. You can't prevent me from taking this chance!"

Pipe looked truly… stuck. She couldn't poke a hole in his argument, but she would sure as hell try. "Maybe this is your precious 'family reunion,' but what about the people of the Commonwealth? Would their so-called 'savior' join the very thing they need saving from? No! The Institute is the enemy here, not some organization dedicated to helping out the Commonwealth. You just can't understand it, can you?"  
Miles looked at her. "I know. There's nothing else to be said. I know that in the end the Institute won't be the right choice, but for now… can't a man have some quality time with his family before the storm hits."

Pipe looked a bit more satisfied. "Fine. As long as you don't let these Institute bastards have you in the end."

Miles sighed, dropping his head. "Fine. Maybe I won't ever be the paragon of my son's ideals, but I won't just exterminate them. I won't just blow him to hell. He's my kid, Piper. If you're even the one in control."

The woman scoffed. "You want to talk about 'control,' Blue? Let's talk about the times when you let your rage get out of hand. Kellogg, any fucking raider encampment, any combat scenario for God's sake. You go completely off the damn walls whenever it happens. It's a scary thing that you need to work on or you won't live long enough to work on anything."

Miles looked both infuriated and conceding, an unusual combination in any sort of argument. "You know what, Piper? You win, alright? You win this round. Is that what you wanted to hear? I've already said everything that needs to be said, and you're coming back at me grasping on goddamned strings! I don't know if you are just devoid of compassion or trying to rouse some sort of anger out of me, but if you're trying to convey that you don't agree with me, do it the normal way, where we actually have a healthy conversation!"

The arguments continued for much longer after that, until each of the competitors were too tired to even care about what had been said. "Let's just stop." they both said, almost in unison. "We're getting nowhere with this. We still have a lot of things to do, and arguing is not one of them." Miles said. Pipe nodded in agreement. They continued to run their errands for the remainder of the night, stocking up Home Plate with food and new furniture. By the time they both had completed their tasks, it was already late.

"Alright… Everything is done. So, uh… what now?" Pipe said, with uncertainty in her voice, trying to be the most like Piper she could be. "Everything's done, right?"  
Miles nodded. "For now, yes. Unless you want to go do something, we have nothing else to do in Diamond City at the moment. I'll go and work on the Power Armor. It's starting to rust with the radiation storms and such, and I really just need some time to myself right now." Pipe nodded in understanding. She heard the door shut and close, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank God! Finally gone. Hard trying to force a smile onto my face, y'know." she muttered to herself. "Huh. You're unusually quiet, Piper."

The woman inside of her head muttered softly, "No qualms yet. I don't want Blue to join the Institute just as much as the next guy. And you haven't tried to seduce him, kill him, or destroy the Commonwealth today, so I think I'm alright. Doesn't mean that I'm not going to try to kick you the hell out, though. You're still a damned parasite."  
To a citizen of the Commonwealth looking in at Pipe, they would see a woman conversing and arguing to herself, and many would probably think, "She's finally lost her bloody mind." And, in a way, that would be true. Just not in the way they phrased the term or the way they tried to comprehend it. In a different way entirely.

Sometimes, Piper has stress. It's human, like the stress you, dear reader, are probably feeling with me writing all of these damned second and third person fourth wall scenarios in the middle of the story. But, as with most humans, Piper held things inside that she didn't like to release for fear of damaging relationships that had taken long, long times to nurture and grow. Relationships, as you know, are far and beyond much easier to destroy than they are to create.

"'Parasite,' huh? I guess that's an upgrade from 'vehemently hated.' Maybe soon I'll be 'leech.'" Pipe said, sarcastically. "We both know that in the end one of us is going to be out and the other would be in control. And that's going to be me."

Piper laughed. "As we speak, the Minutemen are working on a cure for you. It won't be far off when you're dead and gone, Pipe. And you won't ever control me again." She laughed at the thought.

Pipe smiled. "Y'know Piper, it's funny. I'd always thought that we're different, you and I. But you've got more of me inside of you than you like to admit."

Piper growled softly, yet forcefully. "I will never be anything like you. You've claimed to be my better half, but all I see in you is a destructive force that needs to be removed. And tomorrow I'll have my body back once again, and we'll do this cycle all over again."

Pipe grimaced in realization, then smirked. "Maybe so, Piper, but I'll still be in there. You'll have to endure my torment day in and day out. And unlike you, Piper, this cycle isn't going to wear me out yet."

Piper took her challenge in stride. "Alright then. Sleep well, you crazed bastard." She stopped the conversation, leaving Pipe to lurk in the silence of the head of the woman who rested inside of it.

When Miles returned, Piper had collapsed onto the couch asleep. He shrugged and let out a small chuckle, covering her still fully clothed body with the rough, worn out blanket that resided over the top of the couch. He was still angry about the arguments that had occurred that morning and afternoon, but after applying a new coat of Minuteman blue paint to the Power Armor and installing jump jets, his anger had subsided into curiosity. He had to guess that Pipe was in control, showing her claws, and he hoped that the anger she had radiated would not carry over into the next day.

 **Home Plate, Diamond City, Crack of Dawn, Day 5, Piper**

Piper awoke as the first lights of day broke in through the crude glass windows that had been strewn throughout the property back when it was created. She let out an irritated yawn, not only at the blinding light which had disturbed her rest but also with the fear that Pipe might have done something while she had slept. She slowly realized the feeling of a soft, heavy object on her body. She looked up to see the couch blanket neatly draped around her. She smiled, and lifting it up, she looked at her figure with weary, half-asleep eyes. "Still fully clothed…" she muttered, a yawn escaping her lips, while the feeling of relief cascaded throughout her mind and calmed her soul. "No use trying to fall asleep now. An early morning walk might do me some good." She rose, slowly but steadily, her body adjusting not just to the new day but to a new owner as well. She stumbled toward the door with determination, and upon arriving she creaked the door open as slowly and gently as she could so Miles would not wake up. The sunlight reflected off of the metallic city, and it took a moment's adjustment for her eyes to adapt to the new light. She began to walk around the market, the cries of the vendors sounding like a sweet chorus, singing their song in harmony. Not many citizens had yet risen this early in the day, but to Piper it felt like she was in the hustle and bustle of an Old World city, like the ones Blue told her stories about, and she loved the feeling. She had dreamed of the cities that, according to Blue, could fit multiple Diamond Cities in a single street block. The names rolled off of her tongue. New York. Los Angeles. Washington, D.C. Houston. Denver. She closed her eyes and for a moment the walls of her universe fell, and she was once more in these cities lost to time, soaking in the beauty of many millions of sounds and souls playing the screeching cacophony of busy streets. In a moment, however, the sounds ceased entirely. She opened her eyes to her home. "Hell, it may not be a 'New York,' but at least it's mine." she mused, wandering the city while sun slowly peeked out its head from behind the towering stadium bleachers. She walked and calmed herself, and by the time her walk was done, factoring in the conversations she had, she had been gone long enough for the sun to muster up the courage to reveal itself from behind the Wall, and it now shone across the Commonwealth in all of its glory. She arrived back at Home Plate with the defeatism that had been occupying most of her emotions replaced with a new and welcome sense of purpose, a sense that gave her yet another reason not to just let Pipe take her over completely. She was, in a sense, happy.

The smell of a freshly cooked meal wafted throughout the home, a smell that signified Miles had awoken and was very hungry. He heard Piper walk in the door, and chirped euphorically. "Mornin', Piper!" he expressed, the pep that he felt clearly being seen by Piper and anyone else who happened to come inside here. Both of the individuals in the room had dealt with the pent-up anger from the previous night in drastically different ways, but their methods had all pointed to the same end result: it was better to reconcile than to continue this meaningless argument, and that's what they planned to do.

"Mornin', Blue. What is that fantastic aroma I sense?" Piper said with anticipation.

Miles grinned. "This, dear Piper, is what we call steak n' fries." He handed her a pristine condition pre-war white ceramic plate, something he had gone digging for far more times than he liked to admit.

Piper looked at her plate. It consisted of a prime piece of brahmin steak, peeled, rectangular fried potatoes pieces, and a reddish sauce of which the texture consisted mostly of tomatoes. She tried a small bit of all of it, and let out a satisfied gulp. "This is stupendous! What is it?"

Miles was pleased to hear his chef skills being complemented, and he decided to return her kindness in the most proper voice he could conjure up at the moment. "This, as you know, is a brahmin steak. Paid good money for a nice prime hunk of meat, and I hope it tastes alright. These are what we used to call 'French fries,' strips of peeled potatoes that were fried and consisted of a harder and crispier exterior mixed with a soft and flaky interior. The last bit is called ketchup, or catsup if you're a stuck up asshole, and it is made from tomatoes, salt, a bit of sugar and water, and some love. In the absence of some of these ingredients, we've had to improvise."  
Even though what Miles was saying was slightly more interesting than watching paint dry, Piper had stopped caring after she heard "French fries." She was too hungry and too distant to focus on what he was saying. She swallowed her food hungrily, not noticing Miles rushing about, grabbing weapons and making an announcement on the Radio Freedom channel. He then tried to get her attention. "Piper?" He waved a hand. "Hello?" Miles stepped back, suddenly remembering how the incident a few nights prior had began. She looked up from her meal slowly, giving a look that mixed indifference with curiosity. "We've got a major raider invasion force camping near Tenpines Bluff. Scouts say they're carrying the same insignia as the fucks that tried to take over the Castle last week." he let out a low growl. "Apparently, they haven't launched and attack yet but they've amassed quite the force, enough to easily overrun the current defenses."

Piper immediately let out a sheepish grin. Both Miles and Piper knew how much they enjoyed scaring the hell out of people while in his beloved power armor. Much to Miles's dismay, she had even come up with a nickname for the duo. "It appears the people require us once again, Servos-Locking Mel! The Commonwealth needs the Metallurgy Men!"

Miles grumbled. "It happened once during a goddamned radiation storm," he muttered, exasperated. "Why **wouldn't** my servos lock up?" Miles sighed. "Fine," he said, a fair bit louder. "Let's get the armor and head over to… Tenpines Bluff. It's got moderate laser defences that are superior compared to some of the settlements in its area, but nothing strong enough to repel a full on raider attack of this size. However, as long as the raiders don't start the assault before we arrive, it should keep any scouting parties at bay."

Piper looked deep in thought, then burst out, suddenly enlightened. "Wait!" she cheered. "We could do that, but if the raiders are attacking from here," she pointed on the Pip-Boy map that was being projected out onto the wall, "We could place our best fighters on both the left and right flanks and if we then place sharpshooters in this area," she pointed to a large pasture filled with much taller grass than the surrounding areas, "The sharpshooters could pick off the largest threats to our counteroffensive and the militias on the flanks would cover the escape routes on their left and right flanks, thus leaving only one space open: The back. We would enter their, and force them either to surrender or die." she finished, exhaling a deep breath that had been contained throughout the entire speech, and looked at Miles expectantly.

Miles didn't say anything because his jaw, and in turn the entirety of his lower jowls, was completely agape. "Piper… that's brilliant! How did you know that?!"  
Piper waved him off. "Aw shucks Blue, you really know how to make a girl feel special, don't ya? You can spend a lot more free time in the libraries reading when you have a giant wall around your home that protects you from being brutally murdered by supes or raiders. Also, I have an addiction to flaunting massive books that make me look so much smarter than I actually am."

They were just leaving the house when Piper ended her sentence. Miles breathed out a heavy puff of relief. "There's the Piper we know and love."

Piper cocked an eyebrow. "Love? Didn't know we were that close." Miles eyes widened, and he started making some variety of excuses. She smiled. Good things were happening. She *might* be making romantic progress with Blue, her reading of supposedly "worthless" military strategies had paid off big time, and Pipe was uncharacteristically quiet. Everything seemed to be going her way. For now.

 **Outskirts of Tenpines Bluff, Late Afternoon, Day 5, Piper**

It had been a longer walk than either of them had originally predicted. The trip had been lengthened by the odd (attempted) mugging, hostage crisis/rescue, and raider attacks on their trail. When they arrived at the bluff, they were standing on a hill looking into the raider camp from the back, in their position. "Holy shit…" Miles whispered, the electronic rendering of his voice coming out different than normal, "There's a lot of 'em."

Piper nodded in agreement. "Make sure everyone is in position." she ordered, an action she had gotten used to in the recent events. There was some chatter on the radio, and then Miles turned and gave a thumbs up. "Alright Blue, we are ready on your mark. Try to capture some of the leaders of the raid so we can interrogate them to find their base."

Miles nodded. He started counting down into the comm radio. "5…" Piper shivered in fear and anticipation. "4…" the raiders began to look uneasy. "3…" the sharpshooters trained in on their targets. "2…" the Minutemen cranked their muskets and put them in the ready position. "1…" All sound dissipated into a deathly silence. "Go! Move, move, move!" A massive battle cry roared and echoed throughout the bluff. The raiders were momentarily frozen, but they quickly regained their senses and returned the charge, the smell of discharged gunpowder beginning to fill the air. Some charged the settlement and those who did were vaporized by the laser turrets. Others had tried to escape through the back and those who did were either blown away by Piper's modded combat shotgun, mowed down by Miles's beloved minigun, or captured by the two. Even more tried to stage a breakout maneuver by cutting through the left and right flanks and those who did were captured or killed by the massive swarm of over a hundred militia and Minutemen that were lurking in the bushes. The battle raged on and on, with both sides fighting well and hard. When Miles and Piper's guns ran dry, Piper drew a gleaming, battle-scarred machete, while Miles pounded in the faces of raiders with his power armored fists. The blood lust grew inside the both of them until the time came when the lust consumed them, and they fought like dogs of war straight out of hell. Pipe, who had been previously dormant, was awoken by Piper's spike in her lust for war and death, and she began guiding her attacks, and the unparalleled fury of Pipe came into play, making every jab, slice, and strike even more powerful with the force of fury piloting her hand.

The same was happening with Miles. Even though he didn't have his subconscious vying for control of his body, the blood lust that grew inside of him was uncontainable in its size. He **literally** began **tearing raiders in half,** along with crushing their windpipes, pounding in their skulls, and other incredibly painful ways to die. He threw off his helmet, which landed in the backpack nestled comfortably between the crevices in his power armor. He viewed the world through a different kind of rose-tinted glasses, the kind that interprets "rose" as "blood and human organs splattered everywhere." Then he saw her. A woman that fought with the savage strength of an Amazonian, the cunning and fury of a valkyrie… She was, as we humans say, "Beautiful." he whispered.

Now, if you have ever been drunk, (and I know you have been, don't lie to me.) you know that when you are drunk, you do very stupid things. It's human and it's alcohol. It doesn't result in sobriety. When you are drunk on rage, however, the story changes drastically. Being drunk on rage is something like washing down every meal with a bottle of Everclear. (Look it up if you don't know what it is.) You do things that non blood frenzied you would gawk in horror at. The result? A complete and utter loss of any sense of control, a statement repeated multiple times throughout this story. And now, reader, you will see the fascinating and beautiful conclusion to this event.

Miles was transfixed on the mesmerising beauty that Piper possessed in his eyes. Suddenly, time slowed down. The sounds of gunfire and screams faded into the unending silence. All that was there was… her. He turned to face her completely, the specks of blood, flesh, brains and her own injuries enhancing her beauty far beyond he could have ever predicted. He reached out to her and encompassed her with steel arms in an embrace, kissing her. Time slowed down almost completely, far more than it previously had been. The kiss was at first met with confusion by Piper, but she quickly analyzed and understood the situation at hand and returned the kiss heartily. The seconds ticked by like hours, and the two of them delighted in the moments, grasping for a few more precious seconds that they could spend together.

Even Pipe was speechless. "I… I did not plan for this eventuality." she admitted. "In fact… you know what? I have no words to describe this." she sighed. "If this keeps up, Piper won't need me anyways!" she muttered, sarcasm dripping venomously from her voice.

The kiss, much to their displeasure, ended. The blood frenzy, however, had not subsided. In fact, as they went back into the fray, their frenzy only soared ever higher. By the end of the fight, most raiders lay dead, alongside some of the fallen militia and Minutemen. There were a few raider prisoners, waiting to be interrogated. Even fewer raider managed to flee back to their base. When Miles and Piper (who were each covered with human remains) arrived back at the Minutemen staging camp, his previously shining armor was covered with dents, the titanium reinforcements under the Minutemen blue paint the only thing holding the whole thing together. They heard cheers as they approached, and upon arrival, the cheers grew louder and more focused.

They heard shouts of things like "Way to go, General!" or "Victorious once again thanks to you two, General!" Miles was too tired of speeches to give a long winded lecture, so all he did was take Piper's arm in his own and raise them both into the air. The cheers turned into a roaring blend of victory and hope. The thick trees around the base camp covered some of the moonlight, but in the end it gleamed through the cracks, informing all present of the time they had been fighting. The two of them walked back to their cabin, the light reflecting off of the tinned roofs. As they swung open the door, Miles turned to her.

He took a deep breath. "Piper…?"

She looked over at him. "Yeah?" she said, breathing heavily.

He looked nervous. "I think…" he paused.

She looked at him. "Yes? Out with it!" she ordered, jokingly.

"Piper…" he took a deep breath. "I think… I think I'm in love with you."

And then everything slowed down again. She accepted his embrace, the kiss that had been postponed resumed in strength. And you, dear reader, are probably saying "Seriously Pipe? (or Valkyrie, if you feel like this is my fault.) More sex scenes? It's chapter three, for fucks sake!" But, even though this is something Pipe would do, it was not her that was in control. Nay, in fact the truth points the true controller was Piper herself. She was fully and completely in control, contrary to what you might have been thinking. In fact it was Miles who initiated the romantic scene. Didn't I tell you a person drunk with blood lust does things that the same person without blood lust wouldn't? Well, it still applies! This story stays true to itself, god dammit!

Sorry about that. Back to narration. The hulking suit of powered metal was vacant of the pilot that had been occupying the space only moments before. You, reader, have probably fell in love at someone at some point, be it man or woman, I don't judge. But in the Wastes, love was a rare thing, and true love? Even rarer. They both felt true love for each other, but in their natural personages, they were too nervous to say a thing about it to each other. In this form, however, there was no fear. No hesitations. No barriers. There was only the truth, no matter how ugly it may be. And that night, the truth showed itself. It felt nothing like the night at the Castle. No, not this time. This time it felt _real._ It was not a different pilot inside a body, it was Piper and Miles, feeling a wonderful sense of bliss. As the kiss continued on the bed, it began to evolve. They started to become intertwined with each other, and they became lost in happiness. The worries of the normal world dissipated, replaced with the senses focused on nothing but pure, unaltered love. As he pushed deeper and harder, so did she. The feelings of satisfaction coursed throughout their bodies. The feeling of soft, warm lips on their skin made them shudder, which made the euphoria that followed all the more tantalizing. Their hands slithered and darted across their bodies. Every inch, every crack, crevice and bulge on the bodies of the two were found and explored by the other person's hands, and when they found that special spot on their counterpart's body, the pleasure spiked in an instant causing a brief cry to escape Piper's lips until Miles quickly stifled it with a tender kiss. The exchange continued deep into the night, with each participant having a moment of fleeting but precious dominance followed by a rush of euphoric pleasure. And when the exchange ended, its former participants collapsed from exhaustion, the deed of love had already been done, and sleep overtook them both.

 **Well… That's that! I want to thank you guys for reading + reviewing, it means so much to me! I'm not sure how long this story can go before it receives the unfortunate fate of repeating itself and in turn becoming boring as hell. However! If you have any ideas for the story which follow the pre-established storyline (fine, you can deviate from it. But only SLIGHTLY.) post a review containing your idea and why you think it would be good, and I'll say yea or nay. You** **will** **be credited for your ideas, and I put out a most sincere thank you. You guys rock! -Valkyrie**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 is here! Gods21: I swear, you're the only person that reviews. In any case, your ideas are FABULOUS. I bounced them around in my head, and I came to a conclusion on most of them. For the first suggestion, I would agree completely. As you can see, Piper won't go down easily, and her first reaction (when she figures out how) would be to take down Pipe, and I want to include an attempt at that in. For Nora, she will be brought up periodically when Miles has doubts about Piper. Your third suggestion would be the Plan B if the first suggestion fails. Pregnancy would be a bit difficult to add into** _ **this**_ **story, but I think there could be a separate story dealing with that very situation. And of course, Vault 111 is always going to be there. Anyhows, I love how you guys are reviewing and viewing (1,500! Holy hell!) and I want to thank you so very much. Read on for the next installment!**

 **Day 6, Tenpines Bluff, Morning. Pipe.**

Miles woke up slowly, stretching his arms. He felt a weight on his chest, and his arms settled on the source of the weight. He turned and saw Pipe, her arms wrapped around his unclothed chest, and in turn, body. His arms rested on her bare back, and he saw her eyes flutter open. She yawned as well. "Good mornin', handsome. It was quite the night, huh?" she moved her arms farther down. "You fell asleep before we could finish…" her voice trailed off.

It took him a minute to realize what had happened, but when he did piece it together, he looked beyond furious. Grabbing his old laser pistol, his gun from before the war, he pointed it at her forehead. "Pipe, you bitch! I'll kill you!"

Pipe quickly raised her hands in self defence. "I just took control," she said, dropping her act. "Many things would happen if you killed me, anyway. One, Piper would die too. Anyhow, it wouldn't make a difference. I didn't make you two have sex this time. That was **all** you two." she said, pointing an accusatory finger at Miles. "And you know what the best part is Blue? I didn't need to push you two at all. Quite the opposite, in fact."  
Even though he wanted to say she was lying, that it was her fault from the beginning, he knew what she said was true, and she knew that he knew. "I… I didn't mean to…" he whispered.

Pipe patted him on the back gently. "There, there… You did tell her you liked her and she took it well. Hell, I don't mean to repeat it, but there was sex **without** me initiating it. She loves you too, Miles."

His breaths steadied. "You're right. But… I don't know if I can tell her… Wait a minute… My best friends crazed alter ego is my damned shrink now?!" he seethed.

"Best friend?" she laughed. "She means a lot more to you than that, Miles my dear!" He pointed the gun to her forehead. "Ok! Ok! Sorry! By the Glow…"

Getting up from the bed, gun still pointed at her head, he put on his fatigues and a heavy battlecoat from his time in the Alaskan Wars. "Amazed this thing survived the war. The US of A always did make reliable war clothes…" he mused. He turned back to Pipe. "I'm going outside. You will not leave this room until Piper is back in your body, so you get some alone time. I swear, if you even leave this room, I will shoot you in the knees." He said. "I wouldn't hurt Piper, but you… you aren't her. You never will be. And if you leave, by all the powers invested in my soul, I will find you. And I will kill your twisted interpretation of Piper Wright."

Pipe looked horrified. "Holy… holy shit. Alright, alright. I won't move. Fucking crazy piece of shit." she muttered.

He gave her a death glare, and left the cabin, entering the blinding blizzard that was pounding the cabin. He pulled his coat up against his gas mask with force, avoiding the blinding snow that threw itself against his goggles. "Hrmmm… it's going to be a long walk to Sanctuary in this snow. Hopefully this snow should let up soon enough. It's going to be a long trip. Going to have to rest here for a bit."

 **Day -95006, Sanctuary Hills, Commonwealth, 2077, Miles.**

Miles yawned, and awakened. He felt the warm touch of a comforter and blanket, a luxury he didn't have in a random place in the Wastes. He rolled to the right, hitting a body that was built in a more feminine form than usual. For a moment, he thought he was still in bed with Pipe. But then… then the figure turned. "Good morning, Miles. Sleep well?" she chuckled. "To be honest, I'm more tired now than I was when I went to sleep."

Miles just stared, his mind unable to comprehend what was happening. "N… N…" he sputtered. "Nora…?"

She laughed. "Of course it's me, silly. I am your _wife,_ after all." she put on amused face. "Unless you happen to be sleeping with someone else…?" she laughed. Miles eyes widened, and he began forcing out a series of strained, awkward, and nervous laughs. "Y'know, I never really noticed, but Shaun has your eyes, Miley." she said, reminiscing. She stared at him concern reflecting off of her green eyes. "Are you ok, hon?"

Miles didn't say a word, but tears formed in his eyes. "Oh my God, Nora… I've missed you."

Now it was her turn to be confused. "Dear, I love you to the depths of my heart, but I gotta ask: What the hell hit your head yesterday?" she began to get out of bed, but Miles pulled her back down.

"Just one more minute, please." Miles begged, just wanting to stay in this moment for a few more seconds.  
Nora chuckled nervously. "You sure that you don't want to reschedule your psych exam for today?"

His eyes widened. "Wait. What day is it?" He pulled down the calendar that hung beside their bed. It read: _**October 20th, 2077.**_ He knew what was going to happen. "Nora. I need you to do something. And you need to trust me. Will you trust me?" She started to go off on a different tangent, but he asked again. "Will you trust me?" She nodded. "I need you to gather the most prized heirlooms you have. I'll gather all the preservable food we can get. I need you to get Shaun, get him in the car, and get anything necessary for life, and pack it in the trunk. Gather clothes and any medical supplies."

Nora looked scared. "Miles, what is going on? You're scaring me…"

Miles grabbed her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I need you to trust me. I'll explain everything in the car. Right now, we need to move."

Nora looked doubtful, but soon began slowly nodding her head. "I trust you, Miles. I trust you." she began to tear up.

Miles hugged her. "Go. Get everything. We need to leave as soon as possible." They rushed around the house, gathering all that they needed. They had countless cans of preservable food and water, packed tightly into their trunk. He started up the car, and began driving.

Nora looked incredibly frightened. "Miles, where are we going?! Tell me, now! You can't just uproot our entire family for no apparent reason!"  
He looked onwards. "We're driving as far away from the coast as possible. We're going to Wyoming. Anywhere where we can be safe."

Nora looked adamant. "We WERE safe until you just drove off from home! I don't understand what the hell you are doing! Why do you think that we need to go to a place with more sheep than people!?"

Miles breathed, then turned to her. "Nora. In exactly three days, nuclear fire will rain down onto the world, annihilating most of the human population. If we stayed at home, we would go into Vault 111, but we would be cryogenically frozen for 200 years. At that point, you would get shot and Shaun would be kidnapped. I won't let that happen. I won't let our family be destroyed again. We're going to Cheyenne Mountain."  
Nora looked dazed and confused. "So you're telling me that the Reds nuke us in three days? I'm not going to rule out your questionable sanity right now, but let's say you're right. Let's tell people! The government! Anyone!"

Miles shook his head. "No. It wouldn't make a difference. The government wouldn't care. They would hide in their little Vaults, protecting nobody but themselves. We need to get to the most secure nuclear bunker on Earth: the N.O.R.A.D. bunker in Cheyenne."

Nora stared at him. "Backtracking here a bit, what do you mean, 'again?'"

Miles looked broken, then consenting. "Damn. You heard that?" She nodded. "Fine. Nora… I lived through all of it. The devastation, the desperation, the sheer horror and destruction that it caused. There's no way to describe it. I saw you die. I killed so… so many people. Too many people. Too many to count. Too many to understand. Too many to comprehend. I can't let it happen again."

Nora stared at him. "I… I don't… I don't know what to say. I… Ok. Ok. Let's do this. Let's go."

Miles didn't respond, putting the car in drive and speeding off as fast as he could. "We're going to Wyoming. It'll take at least a day, most likely more. We need to survive, Nora. This can't happen again. I won't let our family die!"  
Nora just stared. "Miles… You can't dwell here anymore. It's been too long."

Miles looked over at her. "Wh… what…? What did you just say?" He looked in denial.

Nora just shook her head slowly. "Miles, you need to wake up."

Miles stared at her. "What are you talking about? We're going to be ok, and I'm going to protect all of you! I won't let you down!"

Nora stared even closer. "Miles. This is no longer your home. You need to wake up." All of a sudden, a blinding flash appeared.

Miles looked frozen. "No… no… It's too soon! It's not supposed to be happening yet! We're still so far away!"

Nora smiled. "Miles… Wake up." As she said this, the inside of his body started to burn… to disintegrate. As he screamed in agony, he looked over to see the last thing he would ever see: a blinding flash of light.

 **Tenpines Bluff, Commonwealth, 2287. Day 7. Piper and Miles**

He awoke with a start. He heard shouts. He was bleary-eyed, and it took a minute for his vision to return. "What… happened? Nora…? Where's Nora?"

A hand grabbed him. "Sir, you need to lie down. You'll hurt yourself otherwise."  
Miles shook off the hand. "Go to hell. Where's my wife? Where is Nora?"

The Minuteman shook his head. "Sir, your wife has been dead for 200 years. You know that. Everyone here knows that, too. We found you in a ruined cabin on the trail here. It appears that you fell asleep in the blizzard due to some form of exhaustion, and it didn't fare well for you."  
Miles looked at the man. "What do you mean, 'didn't fare well?' What happened to me?"

The Minuteman pointed to his hands. "Sir, you were out in a damned blizzard for well over seven hours. It took us about two hours to carry you here, and you've been asleep here for about ten. It's a miracle you are even alive, much less frostbit. Fortunately, you seem to have Lady Luck on your side. Due to some of your coverings, it appears amputation will not be necessary. However, your body temperature was below the average rate for a good amount of time. At this point, we aren't sure what the downfalls of this will be, but you should call yourself lucky for even surviving out there."

As he finished speaking, Miles heard an argument. "Whaddya mean, 'I'm not allowed inside?' Do you know who I am? I am Piper goddamned Wright! One word to Blue and you're fired! Out of the artillery cannons!" He smiled. Leave it to Piper to come to his rescue when he needed it. He heard the guard grudgingly consent, and rapid footfalls extending down the corridor. The door burst open. Piper, who was previously incredibly nervous, lit up. "Thank God you're ok." The Minuteman began to open his mouth to tell her she shouldn't touch him, but she gave him a death glare that could kill a lion. He left, mumbling. "Miles… I know what happened. I kinda pieced it together. I do have one question though… What the hell was with the fusion cells in the dresser?"

He chuckled nervously. "I was kinda going to shoot yo… I mean Pipe… if she moved from the area where the cabin was."

She stared at him for a moment. "Seriously? That's a bit extreme." He smiled half heartedly. "Alrighty. I guess I couldn't blame you for wanting to take down Pipe. But why the hell did you go out into the open? In the middle of a blizzard, for God's sake."

He looked at her. "I saw her, Piper."

Piper stared at him. "You saw who, exactly? God? God's a girl?!"

Miles shook his head. "I saw _her._ I saw Nora. I saw everything again, except this time we weren't in the Vault. I felt my very skin burned from my body, my organs evaporated slowly… It was a pain unlike anything else."

Piper looked shocked. "You had some sort of vivid hallucination? Weird."

Miles shook his head. "It wasn't anything like that. It felt so… real. Like she was there. I could feel her, Piper. It felt like she was still here, still with me…"

Piper grabbed his hand. He yelped, and she quickly retreated. "Sorry! I am so sorry!" He forced a strained smile. "I have something to say… About last night, what you said…"

He suddenly remembered. "Oh… yeah… um…"

She looked at the ground, then at him. "Did you… did you mean it?"

He chuckled. "Y'know, it was really just the adrenaline rush. The rage and the fury was kinda messing with my head, and it was a long night, and it was…"  
Piper looked around nervously. "Yeah… yeah… that was it… The adrenaline was a bit overencompasing."

Miles slowly rose out of bed. "I… I feel okay… Let's… let's go."

Piper looked a bit concerned. "Are you sure…?" Miles nodded. "Ok… Let's go then. We need to interrogate those guys. They're really not going anywhere, but we need to get the info out of them while the time is right."

He grabbed the gloves that sat next to his bed. "Let's go… We have some monsters that we need to exterminate."

Seeing Miles get dressed in his battlecoat and slick black gloves provoked a thought out of Piper. "Damn… Blue looks sexy when he looks like Maxson." She suddenly realized what she was thinking. "What am I saying? He's my friend. I can't be thinking like this." She heard Pipe laugh a bit, but before she could lecture Piper, she shut her out.

He looked over at her. "Let's go." They trudged through the snow to the prison, where they saw the raider leaders that survived the attack thrown into the tight space. He nodded to the saluting prison guard, who unlocked the cell door and escorted them in. The raiders stared at him. He glared back. Putting his hands behind his back, he paced around the room. "You already know who I am. I already know what you did. You're going to tell me who your leader is and where they are based, or I am going to enjoy slicing open your stomachs and choking you with your own goddamned INTESTINES!" The men looked wide eyed, including the Minuteman guard. Piper stared in the corner and smirked.

The raiders looked at each other, uncertain if they should blab or keep it shut in fear of their boss. They had an unique expression on their faces as they looked at each other frantically. Miles sighed. "We Minutemen… We don't like to torture people. When I came to power, I didn't want the Commonwealth to fear us, to become a group of so-called vigilantes. I wanted them to embrace us like the force of government that lends a helping hand to those in need. Torture, as you know, would be counter-productive in that area. But do you know what we hate more than torture? What the _people_ hate more than torture? Tell them, Piper."

She continued to glare at them. "Raiders."  
He clapped. "Bingo. And I want you to know that I'm a bad person. Everyone in this organization can attest to that. But when you… you bastards… try to raid the only true paragons of virtue in this wasteland?" his expression darkened. "Different story entirely. These people that fight for the Minutemen? They're good men and women. They are people who aren't doing this work for caps. They're doing this because they believe in something more than themselves. Unlike you. And these people? They want to help others get by. You… you vermin remind me of the looters in Anchorage. They thought the Chinese would break through our defensive lines, so they stole as much as they could and got the hell out of Dodge!" He nodded to the guard, who handed him a .44 magnum revolver. He spun out the cartridge. "Today, we're playing reverse Russian Roulette. This gun has five rounds loaded. I'm going to spin this barrel whenever I come to one of you. Unless you start talking, only one of the great raider leaders will be around." He looked around. Silence. It seemed that the fear of their boss was greater than death. He let out a sigh. "You always gotta pick the hard way, don't ya?" He came up to the first raider, spun the barrel, and clicked back the hammer. Pulling the trigger at point blank range, his head exploded into countless pieces of flesh and bone. Wiping the human remains off of his coat, he sighed again. "We really don't have to do this, you know…" He came up to the second; the same result ensued. He walked up to the third and handed the gun to Piper, who had dressed up in a red winterized trenchcoat, standing beside him. He began to speak. "Buddy… Listen to me. You want to live, right?" Tears streamed down his face as he nodded quickly. "IfI take off this gag, will you tell me where your bosses are based?" Another nod. Miles turned to the others. "See? This guy knows what the right choice is. Unlike you." He lifted up his gun and emptied it into the remaining raiders's skulls. He looked back at the lone remaining raider, his fearful tears streaming down far more heavily now. Milles ripped off the gag, and the raider began sputtering.

"They're… They're based in the Ironworks, near the northeast. They call themselves the Forged, and their leader… He's horrible. I took my group and agreed to join the attack when they asked if any group leaders, like me, wanted to take down the Bluff. I mean, it wasn't Sanctuary or the Castle, but it was something. We knew we had to be united to take you guys out. But when we got there… these crazy fuckers, they worship _fire._ They burn people alive just as some sort of fucking prayer! We couldn't say no when we got there; we were scared they would burn us, too." he stopped. "I… I told you everything you wanted to know. You'll… you'll let me go, right?"

Miles laughed. "Let you go? Absolutely not. Why would I let you go out and make yet another raider group? However, will I let you live? Yes." He paused. "You see buddy, I like to forgive and forget when it comes to my friends. You? You're going to turn your life around. You're going to join the Minutemen." He nodded to the guard. "Kowalski! Get this guy to the rehab center with the rest of the raiders. They're about to start a whole new journey." Kowalski saluted, took the raider, and escorted him away. Miles grumbled. "This is never going to wash out…"

Piper looked a bit scared. "Miles… that was a bit… how can I put it…? Sadistic. That's the word. Sadistic."

She heard a voice in her head respond. "Speak for yourself, sweetheart. I thought it was kinda romantic."

Piper quickly retorted. "Fuck off, Pipe." she mumbled.

Miles looked up at her. "I know." he continued to whistle to himself, brushing off the bits of human remains that still clung to his battlecoat.

Piper stared at him. "And…?"

He looked at her and sighed. "Piper, I can't let these raiders think I'm soft. They'll begin to attack harder, faster, stealthier. I _need_ to be scary. It's what the situation calls for, alright?" he looked at the corpses. "You understand, right?"

She looked doubtful, but began to nod. "Alright, Blue. Just… don't go crazy, alright?" she chuckled nervously. "Really though. You creeped me out there."  
He looked solemn. "I know, Piper. Trust me, I know." The conversation abruptly ended with Miles walking out, the door slamming shut behind him. Piper was left alone, the snow convincing her that it was best to not leave for the moment.

She sat down on the dilapidated metal chair that rested in the guard's chambers, the rusted joints squeaking under the immense weight that had been thrusted onto them, resting her weary mind. She heard a voice resonated throughout her brain. "At least he showed you something. I didn't get to see anything."

Piper was about to retort, but then she processed what her other half had just said. "Whaddya mean, 'didn't show you anything?' Weren't you in bed with him?" she asked, quizzically.

Pipe laughed. "Piper, that was you. When he woke up, he jammed a laser pistol in my face. He threatened to shoot me if I left."

Piper laughed. "Y'know, he might finally be catching onto the cycle. Time to go incognito, Pipe?" The banter was unheard of between the two. "This is the first productive conversation we've had in a long time, y'know. Feels nice, don't it?"

Pipe went silent for a moment. "Maybe," she said, shifting around in Piper's brain. "I guess this is kinda… peaceful…" she mumbled.

Piper laughed. "Maybe one day we could be friends, Pipe."

Pipe chuckled, and replied, "Maybe in another world, Piper. Maybe in another world."

Piper chuckled as well, and then deviated from the topic. "So… you got an origin story or something? I mean, every personality worth its salt has an origin story."

Pipe sighed. "Fine. You want an origin story? Here's your origin story." She took a deep breath. "You remember when dear old dad bit the dust? Your rage against his killer, the guard captain, for God's sake, spawned me. That rage stirred something within your soul, to the point where you considered killing the man. It was the only time I had ever been in control, even just for a brief moment, until you met him, of course. You remember when you first met him, don't you?"

Piper looked deep in thought. Releasing a reminiscing sight, she spoke to Pipe. "Of course. It was almost eight months to the day. Summer was in full blossom, and that rat McDonough had locked me out of the city. As I was yelling at little Danny, I heard crashing from far behind me, and lo and behold, an eight foot tall suit of power armor comes bursting out of the framework. He knew what he was doing for a person wearing that kind of pre-war tech, and it seemed like he was adept in it, to a point. The figure got out of the suit and I saw that he was actually my height, maybe a mite taller. HE was wearing an armored vault jumpsuit, carrying this old laser pistol that looked older than the Wall!" she chuckled. "I thought I could use him to get past Danny, and it worked. He agreed with Old World values like freedom of press, and I was impressed, to say the least. It's hard to do that out here. In any case, to this day he's the only man I know who was able to coax info out of McDonough. I thought an exclusive with a Dweller would sell some papers, so I brought him in for an interview, and as a reward I said I would follow him around. I didn't expect him to take me up on it, but he did. We did the interview, and I swear to you it was like he said everything I wanted him to say. First of all, figured out that he was pre-war, got jammed by Vault-Tec into a reinforced fridge for two hundred goddamn years." she sighed. "He's my own little pre-war relic. He's gone out of his way to help people out even when there is little or no reward. He's a good guy, and that's why I won't let you corrupt him."  
Pipe sighed. "A little sinning never killed nobody. Blue just needs to be reintroduced to his wild side, be reminded that everyone's got a little evil in their souls, and you know that everyone needs to let out that very same evil once in awhile." She continued before Piper could interrupt in protest. "Back to the topic at hand. When you began traveling with Miles, you also began to like him as a friend. That _evolved,_ Piper. Unfortunately, you're too much of a coward to execute it, to fire the first salvo. That's what I am here to do. I am here to make sure that we get Miles, one way or another.

Piper shook her head vigorously. "You just don't get it, do you, Pipe? Miles isn't just some plaything you can fuck and then have fall in love with you! He's a human being, a living thing, with real emotions, with real ideas, with real _opinions._ We won't ever have a real relationship if you keep on trying to fuck him!" She exhaled. "You… you will find that what I say is true, Pipe. You can't conquer Miles if he only thinks of you as some sort of tramp. And to be completely honest here? You will never take me over as long as I live and breathe. And as far as I know that's not going to be leaving anytime soon."

She heard a slow clapping. "Very good, Piper. Y'know, if I wasn't so determined to take you down I might have actually listened to your little rant. But do you want to hear something?"  
Piper snorted. "What? Oh wait, let me guess. I bet you have some 'secret weapon' that you're planning to unleash?" She feigned fear. "I'm so scared."

Pipe's laugh that followed the end of Piper's sentence would chill even the bravest of adventurers to the core. "Piper… I already have. He said that he loved you. He's given us all the material we need. Now act on it, or I'll do it for you." Pipe's voice stopped as abruptly as it had begun.

Piper groaned. Any further interaction with her would be useless, and, frankly, ineffectual. She looked around the empty room. The sky was dark, devoid of most light excluding the stars and the great white sphere that illuminated the sky. The snow had ceased its descent, having pooled as much as it could possibly empty at this moment onto the cold Boston soil. She exhaled slowly and stepped outside. Her breath lingered in the cold air, twisting erratically as it faded into nothingness. She wandered back to her and Miles's cabin, opening the door slowly. As snow spilled in as fast as it could, she entered the warm wooden structure. She noticed the fire that burned brightly in the chimney, a sign that indicated that Miles had gone out for firewood before he returned back to the cabin. She sighed. "Oh Blue… this isn't going to end well, is it?" she whispered. She walked over to the dresser and got into her nightwear, covering her entire body. She noticed the room was getting colder, and looked around the room for the source. She looked to see the door to the makeshift patio ajar, a figure outlined on the porch by the pale moonlight. "Blue…? Is that you?" Silence. "I'm gonna come out there, ok?" More silence. She sighed, put on her jacket, and walked out onto the patio. The chill hit her thinly covered lower body sharply. She shook, the cold shocking her senses. "Cold out here, Blue. You sure you want to stay outside?"

In his gloved hands he held a lit cigarette, slowly exhaling torrents of smoke that rushed to and fro, trying frantically to escape. "Piper… You know what I said on that field, don't you?" She nodded. He bowed his head. "You have to understand, I haven't felt that emotion in a long, long time. And it's really hard to process, Piper. I'm not sure what it was with you, hell, I'm not even sure it _was_ you. But I know one thing. That emotion doesn't come often to me, and I cherish it while I can. And although our relationship may not be officially romantic yet, I just wanted you to know… I care about you, Piper. I will always be there for you." Tears welled up in her eyes. He dropped his cigarette and rushed over. "Oh shit, I'm sorry. Did I say something…?"

She waved him off. "No… I'm happy. You really care about me. Most people, they call me a lousy piece of shit newshound who will do anything for a story. But here you are… saying that you care about me? That's something people don't say often. And from the things you've done for me, I think I can actually believe it, too. Thank you, Blue. Thank you for everything."

They embraced. "Piper, I will never stop caring for you. It's just that I'm not sure I'm ready for romance at this point, even though my actions with Pipe and last night would disagree."

She laughed. "Well, it's getting late. We should probably go inside and get some shuteye. You stay in your bed and I'll stay in mine." They laughed together.

Miles whispered. "Goodnight, Piper."  
A reply came. "Goodnight, Miles. And you know what?"

He whispered back. "What?"  
She replied. "I care about you too."

And so it was. The day had ended, the ordeals over. They had dodged a bullet that Pipe had set in their path, and for the time being it seemed like everything would be alright. But tomorrow is a new day, and, perhaps most importantly, a new Piper.

 **And that is Chapter 4. I know, I know, it might not be up to expectations, but I still want you guys to tell me what you think would be cool! I feed off of your enthusiasm! Your reviews feed my very soul! In all seriousness, though, dropping a review would not only make me happy :-) but it would also make sure that your voice is heard in where this story is going. You guys are fabulous, and I wouldn't want any other readers in the world. 3 -Valkyrie**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello once again! I can't thank you enough for reading. I know you get annoyed because I say this, trust me, so do I, but it's the truth. I wouldn't continue without your amazing support. Anyhows, off to reviews! Gods21: Yet again, you start our list. I know how you feel. His battlecoat is like the only snazzy thing in the Wasteland, and I can't get it unless I kill him. I tried to do a Brotherhood run once, didn't work. Ended up shooting him in the face for his coat every time. Crazy shit, man. Dieselface: I would have killed Maxson (and most times I do), but this is Miles's from pre-war (OR IS IT? *play poorly made rendition of the X-Files theme music). No, in all seriousness, the idea came to me when I wanted to make a scenario where Piper was struggling with her own feelings, and I guess having a crazed alter ego came to mind. And In all seriousness, thanks. You guys are the wind beneath my wings. Read on for Chapter 5!**

 **Day 8, Tenpines Bluff, Pipe**

Pipe rose from her slumber with an almost sloth-like pace, her energy still drained from the fight that her and Piper had executed the previous night. She looked over to where a pot had been placed over the last burning embers of the chimney. The smell of a sweet essence filled Pipe's nostrils, prompting her stomach to rumble violently. She groaned. "Fine, fine… let's get some grub." She rose up and out of the worn-down mattress, its ancient, rusted springs shooting forwards as the weight lifted. She rubbed her eyes wearily, and walked over to the pot. A boiling broth stirred inside the metal cauldron, and the smell of vegetables filled the air. However, there seemed to be nothing inside the pot at the moment. As she wondered where the main entree was, the door flew open. Miles, his silver battlecoat covered with flecks of snow, emerged, a dead Yao Guai cub flung over his shoulders. He turned to face Pipe, his face indifferent. His boot prints were speckled with drops of blood, and the trail led out the door, most likely to where the kill had been made. Still silent, he threw the cub down on the table, took out a meat cleaver that he had attached to the side of his pack, and deftly chopped the cub into strips of meat that looked incredibly appetizing at the moment. Pipe reached out to grab one of them, but he slammed the cleaver down mere centimeters from where her fingers had hovered. She quickly retracted her hand, receiving a glare from Miles. He took the meat and threw it into the pot, stirring up the contents and leaving it to simmer.

He sighed contentedly. "Breakfast at last. Hard to find a Yao Guai cub at this time of year. Most of the bastards are hibernating, tucked deep into their caves. The meat might be a bit irradiated, but I gave it a little homegrown remedy that should decrease it a small amount. In about forty minutes or so it'll be cooked to perfection."

Pipe stared at him. "How did you learn to cook like that? If I tried to cook, I would burn down this cabin."

Miles looked at her with more indifference. "You mean if Piper tried to cook. It's happened before." he pursed his lips in thought. "I probably learned to cook when I was a kid. Mom was the opposite of a housewife, more like Wendy the Welder. She was a great mother, not afraid to get her hands dirty. She taught me how to cook when I was about eight, maybe nine or ten. I dabbled in culinary arts for a while after that, but it never became something serious until I joined the army. MREs were running low, so we had to cook our own food. I was named the honorary cook of the company, even got this chef's hat that we found. They called me 'Mr. Boyardee' for a while. Then the commanders started saying this. I tell you, it's something else when you're under fire by the Reds and your CO calls for 'Boyardee' to take a group and storm the front. Crazy times."

Pipe looked at him. "Wow. You do have some stories to tell, don't you?"

He laughed. "Yeah; I guess I really never thought that my life or my stories were any different from the next guy's. Seeing the Wastes? I know better now. That's why I lead the Minutemen. They want to restore the American government in its purest form: Liberty for all. _E Pluribus Unum._ That sort of thing." He sighed. "Pipe, I wanted to talk to you."

She batted an eyebrow. "Haven't pulled a gun on me yet. Seems like that might be a good sign, huh?"

He stared at her again. "You know why I pulled a gun on you, Pipe. But that's not important. What is important is that you realize that I want to speak. So let me do so." She nodded. "Alright then. I'll continue." He cleared his throat. "Pipe, I think I might have been a little unfair to you. You're a scheming sociopath, but in this place, not many people are. And to be honest, I think that if we can get along, your relationship with Piper may improve. Now, I'm not skilled in the functions of the brain or anything like that. What I do know, however, is that when I see a very good friend like Piper in need of assistance, I help her out. And if your relationship improves, then my work would be done." He looked at Pipe. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm giving you a second chance, Pipe. If you can prove to me you're not out on some mission to slaughter Piper, then I may be more open to you."

Pipe crossed her arms. "So, long story short, you'll give me a second chance, and if I let you down, it's bye bye birdy?" Miles nodded in confirmation. "Alright then, Blue. You've got yourself a deal." Miles shook her hand. To Piper's point of view, it seemed that Miles wasn't making the most intelligible choice, but if it paid off in the long run it would be a resounding leap forward for making Piper, well, making Piper Piper again. Pipe smiled. "So, chief, what's our first mission?"

Miles looked at her. "Your first mission is to eat. Then we discuss." They ate the meat ravenously, the boiling broth bringing out the taste and some of the impurities in the food. When they finished, Pipe's stomach gurgled happily. Miles looked far less hungry than before. He looked up at Pipe. "We're going to raid the Ironworks. This is your chance to prove that I can actually trust you, Pipe."

She nodded. "I'm game. What's the plan, Blue?"

Miles felt uncomfortable with Pipe calling him Blue, but since it was partly Piper's brain, he let it go. "A group of heavily armed Minutemen will create a distraction at the opening gates, then storm the front. While the Forged are fighting them off, we'll enter through the back, take full advantage of the distraction, and take down their leader. Simple enough?"

Piper grinned. "How much noise we making, chief?"

He looked uncertain. "It would be best to try to go quiet, but if the need arises we can go loud. I would pack suppressed weapons for maximum efficiency."

She nodded in understanding. "Alright, Blue. When do we ship out?"

He turned to face her, a smirk appearing on his face. "Right… about… now." The sound of hundreds of trampling feet marching in rhythm. He grinned from ear to ear. "God, I love being the boss." They walked outside the cabin, Pipe's weapon of choice, her suppressed sniper rifle, was thrown over her shoulder lazily, the weapon swinging as she walked. Miles carried Justice, the combat shotgun, which he had added a suppressor onto. They walked up to where the battalion had come to attention. He walked up to the raised podium, the militia standing to attention. "Attention, my fellow Minutemen! Today is truly a day to be remembered! Today is the day we take down Slag and his gaggle of so-called 'Forged.' However, as we all know, no group of raiders, no group or institution of evil can triumph over the truth that is the goodness of the Minutemen!" A cheer roared throughout the crowd. "However, this is not all going to be easy pickings. Some of you will not make it home. Many of you will most likely be injured. But in the end… In the end, those people who give their lives and those who fight for this fight will be remembered throughout the annals of history for their contribution to ending the oppression that raider groups like the Forged have cast over this formerly great land. Today… Today we push that cloud back, no matter whether it recedes inches or miles, we change this land forever!" The roaring increased until Miles put his arms in the air. Everything went silent. "Today, we ride through these lands. No matter what condition of weather, no matter what your need, remember our motto!" The crowd began to say the motto alongside Miles. "Protect the People at a Minute's Notice!"

The battalion was sectioned off into about three separate companies of 120 people each, each led by a commander that had been appointed by Miles himself. After coming to power, Miles used his more extensive knowledge of the pre-war U.S. military to base the Minutemen into an organized fighting force that mirrored the military of the country in many ways. It had evolved from a collection of militias to a real fighting force. Pipe heard some sniffing as the Minutemen marched by the podium. "Blue? Are you… crying?"

He quickly turned away. "Maybe." He saw Pipe cock a brow at him. "Fine, I am. They're just my pride and joy, y'know?"

"We need to get you a life…" Pipe muttered. The snow was falling more heavily now, decorating the ground with an even thicker coat of white. Miles pulled his thick battle coat farther up on his mostly unprotected face. Pipe looked a bit amused. "Blue, you looks like a turtle with your head like that."

Miles glared at her. His voice severely muffled by the coat, he responded. "Nuh uh! Mah fece looks fine when I'm hur." Pipe almost fell to the floor laughing. Miles glared at her. "Letz joost get un with de treep alreedy." Through bouts of laughter, Pipe managed to nod, and their trip began.

 **Saugus Ironworks Exterior, Day 8. Pipe.**

For the most part, the trip was uneventful. The snow let up about a third of the way through, much to Miles's relief and Pipe's sorrow. When they arrived at the plant, the Minutemen had already dispatched of the front door guards and were awaiting further orders. Miles smiled. "Good job, boys. You fortify here until I contact you on the radio. When I do that, you storm the front. Kill as many as you can and if your commanders feel it's necessary to fall back, by all means do so. They arrived at the back entrance which Miles had picked mere seconds before. Pipe made a weird cooing noise, which almost sounded like he had done something she liked, but he was too focused to care. "On my mark. 3… 2… 1… Mark!"

As Miles bursted through the back door, gun at the ready, his assault was drowned out by the hundreds of heavily armed men yelling a battle cry while storming the gates. He exhaled deeply, relieved that, for the most part, the plan was going off without a hitch. He raised a hand to Pipe, who held her position. She moved her aim to target one of the raiders holding a rocket launcher. She held up two fingers to Miles, who nodded. She adjusted her focus, and, aiming right for that soft spot of the skull, let loose a bullet that penetrated the man's skull. Nobody noticed the almost completely silent shot or the point at which the shot hit its target, which, in all honesty, was all the better for the both of them. Miles gave a thumbs up. He held up his fingers in the OK sign, basically saying "Damn fine shot." They left the Minutemen to fight with the raiders in the main building, moving forward into the upper levels. Their silence ended. "Seems like most of the raiders in here left to go help defend the front against our boys. Let's take advantage of their distraction while we can. Find the main smelting room, and we find Slag." Pipe nodded. The two partners combed the room, until he heard a shout from Pipe.

"Hey Blue! You might want to check this out!" she exclaimed. When Miles got over to where she was, he looked through the window at which she was pointing. Inside, he could see Slag and a couple of captured settlers. "Aren't those the settlers from the Bluff? How'd they get here?"

Miles shook his head. "Circumstances don't matter. What matters is that we get them out before they take a swim in the magma pool there." He pointed to the vast cauldron of bubbling hot lava that was used for smelting. "Painful way to go. You cover here, keep your sights trained on Slag. I'll sneak in and try to take him out."

Pipe looked concerned. "Stay safe, Blue." She was being unnaturally caring for, well, for her. It was an improvement, no doubt, but Miles wondered how long it would stay.

Miles jumped off the platform, hitting the lower steel catwalk with deft precision. "Knew it was a good idea to take those agility courses. Who's laughing now, bodybuilders?!" He quietly sneaked over to a fallen pile of concrete settled near where Slag was standing. He heard snippets of conversation.

"… Of course I know what's going on. It should be obvious. Your troops blabbed to the Minutemen about our location." Miles heard. That must be Slag. More of an authority kind of voice.

"… I know, Slag. Our men say that these minutemen bastards have got a few hundred men with 'em. We could break even with number of men, but their firepower is gonna leave us in the dust."

For a moment, Miles heard silence on the other end. Then, the voice resumed. "… Tell your men to wear down the Minutemen. Don't fight them head-to-head. Try to use Molotovs to spread them out, so they'll be easier pickings."

The other man nodded. "Of course, sir. We'll have it done right away."

Slag turned so that he came into Miles's field of vision. What was he wearing on his body… Was that… Power armor? How the hell did he get that? He breathed stressfully. At least Pipe has a gun trained to his head. Celebrate the small victories, right? He exhaled slowly. Aim… Aim… He signaled to Pipe. Fire! Unfortunately, the bullet glanced off of his power armor due to the angle at which he was standing. Even worse, this also alerted him to their presence within his compound, his _sanctum sanctorum,_ which meant that only one person would be getting out of this situation alive. Miles strode out of his hiding place with bravado and confidence lingering around him. "Slag! You have terrorized these people for far too long! It's time you be brought to justice!"

A hoarse, deep laugh erupted from Slag's throat. "Another one of you so-called 'Protectors of the People?' Well then, pal, let me break something to ya. This? This is my house. My rules. And you know what? Today… today you are going to burn for your sins." He leaped off the balcony and onto the ground level facing Miles. There was no movement for a moment, and then Miles suddenly whipped out Justice and started raining loose a hail of silent bullets. Most pinged harmlessly off his armor, but some either wedged themselves in the armor crevices or the unprotected areas where the couplings met. The man laughed, pulling out a flamer. "Boy, you brought a pea shooter to a match fight. Have you made peace with your creator? Do it now, while you still got a mouth to do it with." A streak of yellowish-orange flame spewed out of the nozzle of the flame thrower, igniting some small pieces of paper and charring parts of Miles's clothing, but not doing any serious damage. However, the massive gun was more than was needed to convince Miles to stay the hell under cover. He returned fire every time he lulled in spitting out the flames, and at one point he noticed the flames didn't come. He warily looked up from his cover to see… nobody?

"God dammit. Got away. Can't have wandered too far. I'll comb the area for anything that might be of use." He looked over the cauldron, the rising heat fuming in his face. He coughed. "That's thick smoke…" he muttered. As he let his guard down for a mere second to inspect the vat further, he was taken advantage of. Slag jumped down from the rafters, charging at him. He didn't have time to move out of the way, and he tumbled backwards into the lava pit.

Slag walked over to the edge of the pot and looked at the sides. There was a man hanging on for dear life on the edge of the vat. He chuckled. "When will you do-gooders learn that no matter what, you'll never win?" He began to pluck off Miles's grip on the lip until only one hand remained. He sighed. "You lose again, asshole." As he lifted up his foot to stomp down and deal the blow that would end Miles's life, he faltered. Miles, who had shied away and closed his eyes, slowly peeked one eye open. Standing there, axe lodged in his head, was Slag. His mouth was slightly agape, his eyes wide open. He tumbled forward into the deep cauldron, hitting the sides as he made his way to the burning hell below.

A hand extended from the top. "You look like you could prosper from some help there, Blue." He looked up to see Pipe, her upper body splattered in blood, her arm outstretched, crouched next to the edge.

Miles's smile ran from ear to ear. Grabbing her hand and pulling himself up, he came to sit on the rim of the vat. "Pipe… you saved my life. If it wasn't for you, I would be an extremely overcooked brisket by now. You worked hard for it, and you deserve the reward. I would gladly put my trust into your hands with some matters like these, Pipe."

She looked smarmy, a smirk appearing on the right side of her mouth. "Why thank you, Blue."

Miles looked forceful. "This doesn't mean we're buddies now, though. If it comes down to Piper or you, you know who I would pick." She nodded. "Alright. We're staying here the night to help clear it out for a new outpost. Get comfortable, Pipe. It's going to be a long night."

 **The Castle, Late Morning, Day 9. Piper.**

Piper awoke faster than usual, the mess hall bell ringing for the second time being the catalyst of this rude awakening. She looked around the room. She seemed to be hooked up to some sort of IV, and Miles sat by the side of her bed, snoring. She batted at him weakly. The man sprung up like a rocket. "Wha…!? I wasn't sleeping, honest!" He blinked a couple of times, and looked over to see Piper. "Oh, hey! You're awake!" He looked at the bandages that covered a good portion of her torso. "They're bleeding through, dammit." he cursed. "Curie!" he called.

The woman waltzed through the door elegantly. "You called, monsieur?"

Miles nodded. "We need to switch out her bandages. The wounds are bleeding through. At this rate she's losing more blood than the IV is pumping in."

Curie nodded. "Right away, monsieur." She rushed off to get supplies. She returned carrying a new roll of bandages and some Minutemen medics-in-training. She gave off some orders. "Hold her down, s'il te plait." The medics nodded. Curie slowly inched her hand forward and then, in one streaking motion, she tore off the bandage and grasped for a new one. As she was doing this, Piper looked up to see what the issue was. She regretted her decision almost instantaneously. She saw a huge gash that was covered with pre-surgery stitches near the left end of the ribcage stretching to the end of the pelvis on the right side. Piper is not good with seeing her own blood or injuries. She gets nauseous. So when she saw a deep gash in her body, bleeding profusely, it's needless to say that she fainted.

- **Later** -

When Piper awoke, she looked to see the newly applied bandages resting on the wound. She looked up to see Miles, sitting there, watching her. "Whoa… I'm pretty sure that wasn't there before, Blue." She managed to (barely) suppress her gag reflex upon thinking about what she had seen. "What the hell happened?"

Miles looked amused, and then astonished when he realized she wasn't joking. "You mean… Pipe didn't tell you?"

Piper began to play worst-case scenarios in her head. Had she pissed off a Supe? Ran into a minefield? Tried to hit on Miles when he finally cut the end of his rope? She didn't want to know, but she knew she had to. "Didn't tell me what, exactly?" She waited for his response through bated breath.

"Piper… You… well, Pipe… saved my life. Again." A small, no teeth showing smile appeared along his face. "It might have been reflex, or it might have been your part of the conscience, but if not for you I would be a beef brisket by now."

Piper chuckled softly. "You… you said that already, Blue."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know. I just feel so proud of my joke." He gave a mock Superman pose, which made Piper start bursting with laughter.

"OW! Laughing hurts. Noted." She looked at Miles. "What happened, exactly?"

Miles stopped his pose. "Well, what's the last thing you remember?"

Piper thought for a minute. "Well, I do remember Pipe pushing that fat guy into the pot of doom, but I don't remember getting the biggest shiv in modern history being dragged throughout my stomach area." she thought harder. "I remember you saying 'It's gonna be a long night, Pipe,' but then I can't remember anything after that."

Miles nodded. "That would make sense, since that was around the time you collapsed because of blood loss."

She stared at him. "What did you just say?" she looked wide eyed. "Blood loss?"

He nodded once more. "It seems that when you made Humpty Dumpty take a fall into the vat, Mr. Dumpty also wanted to leave you with a parting gift. Took a Shishkebab and sliced through your flesh like it was melted butter. Curie guesses that the only thing that kept you going was massive adrenaline."

She looked at him with shock and disbelief. "You're telling me that some nutjob hit me with a flaming, gas-powered machete, and I didn't feel it? No offense, but that sounds like a load of shit, Blue."

He shook his head slowly. "You felt it all right, but the surge of adrenaline didn't make you realize it was there until after surge ended, which, coincidentally, was directly after I thanked Pipe for saving me, notwithstanding that the extreme heat partially cauterized the wound and prevented most of the blood loss. If it had been a regular ol' sword, you might be worm food by now."

Piper was much more wary of Pipe than Miles was at this point, and for good reason. She was the only person who heard all of Pipe's plans, the only person whom she tormented almost 24/7. She was Pipe's host, no matter how unwilling. She knew that if Miles began to trust her that all would truly be lost. She began to slur her words as the morphine partially kicked in. "Miles… need to get her out… need to find a way… to get her out… no matter what… bigger plans… bigger goals… don't… don't trust her…" The morphine kicked in fully, and she began to experience the hallucinogenic effects.

He sat, deep in thought. Piper had begun mumbling gibberish as the painkillers took hold, and she had nothing intelligible left to say for the time being. He remembered her words whispered just moments before. "Don't trust her…?" He began to contemplate his next moves. He didn't want to betray his only true friend in this Wasteland, but he also didn't want to kill the person who had just saved his life. Damn him and his Old World concepts of morals, he thought. He bounced around the ideas in his head. He was caught in a standstill, faced with the option of waiting out in hope that Curie could eliminate Pipe. A feeling of betrayal washed over him. Pipe had saved his life, and it just felt… wrong, killing her. And then his mind turned to the latter option. No… Piper wouldn't want it. "She won't be sane enough to care if you don't act now!" his mind argued. The back and forth continued for a while, but it ended when he made his decision. "We need to go to the Institute." He looked at Piper. "I'm sorry. I won't let you die, but neither can she. I hope you'll forgive me, one day." He grabbed hold of Piper's arm, taking a deep breath. He took out the device that he had swore he would only use in an emergency. "This is an emergency. An emergency of the highest order." he thought. He pressed the button, a streak of blue appeared, and they were gone.

 **Institute, Day 9, BioScience Lab. Piper.**

Shaun and Miles sat behind the protective glass. "You made the right choice, father." Shaun said, factually.

He nodded. "Maybe… Maybe I did. That's not going to make up for how furious Piper will be when she finds out we're in the Institute."

Shaun chuckled. "Most would be grateful for our help."  
Miles looked defensive. "It's not that I'm ungrateful, trust me, it's quite the opposite, but I don't know how SHE'LL take it when she rises up from that slumber you put her in, she's going to go ballistic."

Shaun nodded. "I understand. As I said before, many people are…"

Miles interrupted. "Untrusting of the Institute. I get it." he sighed. "What's the plan for gettin' Pipe out of Piper?"

Shaun looked confused. "Pipe…?"

Miles had a look of realization. "You don't know who that is, do you?" Shaun shook his head. "It's what we call Piper's alter ego."

Shaun nodded in understanding. "It is good that we have a system of identification for the persona." he sighed. "We've reconstructed her physical body in the form of a synth. The double is an exact replica in all sections except for her mind. It's a blank slate. We can transport the conscience of… Pipe… until she is fully extracted from Piper's body. We can then eliminate the synth, thus destroying Pipe's conscience and ensuring the future safety of you and Piper. Do you understand?"

Miles nodded slowly. "Yeah… I think I do… But I have one question… Is there a possibility that Pipe wouldn't be eliminated?"

Shaun contemplated the idea. "I could, but why would you want to? I mean, wasn't it the original plan to _eliminate_ Pipe?"

Miles fidgeted with his thumbs. He looked up at Shaun. "Plans change, Shaun. Is there any issues that we could encounter with keeping the Pipe conscience alive for a while longer?"

Shaun looked deep in thought once again. "None that I can think of. Unless, of course, she is particularly rebellious. In that case, extra precautions will need to be taken."

Miles nodded. "Get the procedure underway. Preserve the Pipe conscience as best as possible. _Do_ _not_ eliminate the conscience."

Shaun nodded in reply. He spoke into the speaker. "Begin the testing. The new orders are to _preserve_ Specimen Y. Do _not_ execute the containment procedures." The modified hazmat research suit clad researchers nodded. Shaun turned to Miles. "This may be… uncomfortable… because of your past 'experiences' with Piper."

Miles glared at Shaun. "Even though I didn't teach you about life, I would think you would be able to grasp it without me raising you. But fine. I'll leave for the time being."

- **Later** -

Miles was sitting in the waiting room, bouncing a ball in the cup as much as he could to alleviate the boredom. He was sitting there when all hell broke loose, too. "405… 406… 407… 408…" He was still sitting there when the screaming started, accompanied with the sounds of screeching metal and gunfire. Then… All went silent. He took out Justice and rushed into the room. When he entered, he saw something out of a horror movie. The flames raged around the laboratory, Coursers firing wildly at the synthetic Pipe.

"How's it feel to eat metal, you Institute bastards?!" Pipe screamed as she let loose another hailstorm of bullets and fire. The scientists had cleared out for the most part, and the Coursers covered the exit of the ones that remained.

Miles's eyes darted around the room, looking for his target. Then he found it, his retinas training on the subject in question. Piper. "Hold on, Piper! I'm coming for you!"

Pipe's eyes focused on Miles. "Where ya going, Blue? Aren't you going to stay for the fun?!" She fired another magazine just next to Miles's feet.

He dove for cover. "What the hell, Pipe? I would understand seduction, but why the hell do you want to kill me?!"

She laughed. "All part of the plan, Miles. I knew you would trust me if I saved you, so when you transported me back to the Castle, I knew that Curie's research would take forever anyhows, and you would take me to the Institute to get me out. And then you become 'sentimental.' Your Old World values failed you once again, 'Blue!'" she laughed. "You won't die here… You'll eventually be mine. Feels good to be my own person, and it's all thanks to you!" As the distractions kept her occupied, the Coursers had the time to take the shot. She screamed in pain. "I'll be back for all of you, you swine!" She winked at Miles. "Especially you, Miles…" She burst out the door that led to the teleportation room, and the flash of blue filled the area.

He yelled in anger. "God damn you Pipe! God damn you!"

Piper began to rise from her slumber. "Miles… What's going on… where are we…?" She looked around the room. "The Institute?! What the hell are you doing?!" She seethed. She looked for solace in Pipe, who, quite ironically, had become the person who she talked to when she was doubtful. "What happened to Pipe?! What's going on?!"

Miles had an almost sheepish grin on his mouth. "I kinda extracted you to the Institute to get Pipe taken out of your brain."

Piper's eyes burned with unholy fire. "YOU BROUGHT ME HERE?! TO THE INSTITUTE?! YOU SONOFABITCH! I SWEAR TO GOD, WHEN I'M OUT OF HERE, YOU'RE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME?! DEAD!"

Miles grimaced. "Ooohhh… that's not good, is it…?" he aired out his collar with nervousness. "Any chance for a second chance…?" Piper's eyes told the whole story. "Goddammit." He signaled to Shaun. "Apply a sedative, please?" Shaun nodded.

The syringe entered her arm. "I'LL… I'll… kill you… watch you… burn…" She fell into unconsciousness.

He sighed. "You wouldn't happen to have some sort of amnesia sedative, would you?" Shaun nodded. "Why do I even ask? You guys have everything." He sighed again. "Just apply it and I'll get her out of here." The pill was forced down her throat, the water carrying it to the stomach with ease.

Shaun began to speak. "The amnesiac will work only to eliminate the events where she found out you were in the Institute. Nothing else. She will be aware of Pipe's separation from her main conscience and her escape from the compound, but that is the limit. I'm sorry, father. It seems that you must find Pipe before serious damage is done."

Miles looked apprehensive. "This is your synth, why don't you send your Coursers?"

Shaun shook his head. "This is your quest, father. Not mine. I wish you luck, but please cease communication with us until Pipe has been returned."

Miles flung Piper over his shoulders and walked out, mumbling. "This day just keeps getting better and better…"

 **I have no idea what the hell just happened. Even as I am typing this, I'm not really aware of** _ **what**_ **I was typing. If the chapter seems weird, or out of place, tell me. I might have some new additions to the gang soon, ones that we are already very, very well acquainted with. Their adventures will lead them out of the Commonwealth and into the Wasteland. Part of this idea was inspired by** **Shoddy Cast** **'s series on Fallout lore, I hope you give them a ring. In any case, I hope you enjoyed, and a review is *always* appreciated. You guys are the bomb, keep being who you are! Much love, -Valkyrie**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm actually about to scream in happiness. I am so glad that you guys liked that last chapter, I was really nervous. Now responding to reviews that aren't only God21! I love you, man, but I'm also happy that others reviewed. Blaze - I don't think you realize how much your review means to me. Seriously. I was nervous to describe their personalities, and Piper always seemed the opposite of the woman stereotype of "breaking a nail" and that jazz. I loved her headstrong, go-do-it attitude as an independent and strong woman, and that's how I made her. I was nervous for the sex scenes, and I hate the vulgarity that usually encompasses them. So thank you. A lot. Reaper - Thank you! And don't worry, Piper has more than enough rage, but not against Miles (yet…)**

 **Day 10, Recon Bunker Theta, Northern Border of Commonwealth. Piper.**

Miles pounded on the metal door. "Brandis!" he yelled.

The reply was prompt. "Who is it? What do you want?"

Miles sighed. "It's me, Brandis. It's Miles." he shouted.

The man's tone changed almost immediately. "Paladin Mackenzie! Sorry for the hold-up, please, come in!" Even though Brandis outranked him in seniority and service length, he considered Miles one of his greatest friends after he had retrieved the tapes of his former comrades.

The metal door slid open, and Miles, wearing his newest suit of X-O1 power armor, stepped through the door. He managed to transfer most of the upgrades he had made to the T-51b to the X-O1, minus the paint, of course. He had to reapply that. The titanium plating and the Minutemen blue paint gleamed in the sunlight, but the rocket boosters made him feel like he was peddling bags filled to the brim with concrete. He sputtered. "Good to see you again, Brandis."

The Paladin smiled. "Good to see you too, Mackenzie. You're looking young as ever." Miles, being only thirty-two years old biologically, was over two hundred forty years old chronologically. There was a silence, and then Brandis broke it. "So… what are you doing here? I'm guessing it has something to do with Piper's copy? The operation is under your command, Paladin."

Miles pointed to Piper, who had been slung over his shoulder. "You got a bed or something?" Brandis nodded, and Miles gently lay the sleeping reporter on the bed, the woman making a pleasured "mph" and curling up into a ball. He exited the hulking sheet of metal and stared at the Paladin. "Brandis, I thought you were going back to the Prydwen. Why are you still here?"

Brandis stared back. "You see, Mackenzie, I got word that your rogue synth escaped the Institute in a firefight and headed east, toward Albany. Then I hear that the damned thing's moving toward New York."

Miles's eyes widened. "New York… always wanted to go back one day."

Brandis snorted in amusement. "Not anymore. Nukes devastated most of the area, but since the Chinese nuked the West Coast first," Miles's thoughts turned to the Yangtze, and he prayed that the captain had made it back home. Brandis continued on, "the city managed to stave off some of those damned things, but the end result was about as tragic as you'd think. However, a good amount of the population survived by going into those bunkers they built into the streets when the Russians started stockpiling back in the 1950s."

Miles had remembered his father, Jacob, telling him the stories that his grandparents had told him. They used to say that when there were nuclear drills in the city, they were stuffed inside of them. "Brandis, how did they do that? Those things are so cramped, and by the time of the War they were well over a century old!" he said in shock. "How did people even survive?"

Brandis laughed. "They built those things to last, Mackenzie. The government reinforced them when the Resource Wars began, anyhows. And besides, the local Vaults weren't particularly trustworthy with keeping you alive, as you know. About twenty thousand people survived in the New York vaults, including the non Vault-Tec ones, with little to no ghoulification. That's not counting the countless others that survived outside of vaults that were turned into non-feral ghouls or tried to rebuild the area. We never found out the experiments Vault-Tec enacted in the local Vaults until we sent a team from the Citadel to scout it out. Never got a reply. Presumed that they were dead, never sent a recovery team."

Miles looked horrified. "Why didn't you send a team? Were they expendable, or are you going to give me another bullshit excuse?"

Brandis shook his head solemnly. "Quite the opposite. We sent Lyon's Pride. We figured that if they were strong enough to take down a Sentinel, a handful of our best Paladins, and some of the head Scribes, they were strong enough to overpower any recovery team, _if_ the Pride was still even alive."

Miles gaped at him. " _That's_ where Sarah Lyons died?!"

Brandis shook his head. "By then, Elder Lyons had passed and Sarah had took over as commander of the Brotherhood. She had appointed her longtime flame as the Sentinel, some say because of the romantic involvement between the two." he chuckled.

"Her 'flame?' Who was it?" Miles asked, confused.

Brandis chuckled once again. "Remember that girl who helped beat back the Enclave a decade back?"

Miles glared at him. "Brandis, where have I been for the past two and a half centuries?"

Brandis jokingly knocked his head with his fist. "Sorry. Ol' thinkers getting rusty. There was this girl who almost completely destroyed the Enclave, you know them already." Miles nodded. "This girl… she convinced Eden to blow himself up, made Augustus fucking Autumn stand down and retreat, and was willing to sacrifice herself to activate Purity. Luckily, she survived, and then she helped us blow up the guys that nuked Liberty Prime by nuking them with their own goddamned missiles! She's a legend among the Brotherhood, a Vault Dweller who became the next in line for Elder if Maxson was incapable. She is something all Initiates aspire to be." Brandis lectured, starry-eyed.

This particular character had brought water to Washington and revitalized the Capital. That area was almost cleared of Super Mutants and raiders due to trade revitalizing the area, and it was all thanks to her. Brandis had not heard of these developments, but now you know.

Miles looked amazed. "I wanna meet this girl."

Brandis laughed. "Sorry, but you're not her type. And you might be able to soon enough."

Miles glared at him. "Why does everything come back to romance? And what do you mean, 'you will soon enough?' That's just…"

He heard a feminine moan from the other room. Piper was finally awake. "Ugh… my head…"

He and Brandis rushed to her room. "Piper! You're awake!"

She turned her head to see them both. "Oh, heya Blue… What the hell's Brandis doing here? Oh, nevermind. What happened?"

It had taken some time for Piper to accept that Miles was a part of the Brotherhood, but it happened. He hadn't attacked the Institute directly as a Paladin, and since gaining Danse's position and trust after convincing Maxson to spare the unknowing synth, her relations with said synth had increased as well.

"Curie's… operation… it failed, and a synth had Pipe's conscious transferred to it, making it the new host. You… you remember, right?"

It was the moment of truth. Would the amnesiac work? Or would she remember Miles betrayal and his dealings with the Institute. She groaned. "Yeah, yeah, I remember." Miles breathed a deep sigh of relief. She looked at Miles expectantly, much like Brandis had earlier that day. "What's our next move, boss?" she said, courage and strength showing in spite of her current state of weakness.

Miles chuckled. "Boss? Whatever happened to Blue?"

Piper laughed softly. "You are the boss, Blue." She looked over at Brandis. "Heya, Brandy. Why aren't you on Tin Can Alpha yet?"

Brandis sighed wearily. "Its name is the Prydwen, not Tin Can Alpha, and it is powered by hydrogen, not tin cans." he joked. "I need to gather my reports before I leave. Can't seem to find the last ones I made…" He looked at Miles, who was cocking a brow at the man. Brandis suddenly remembered. "The New York plan! Of course! Sorry, Mackenzie." he looked over to Piper. "So, here's the plan, and listen good." He explained the long, boring plan to Piper, so boring that one would tire of reading it about as much as said author would tire from writing it. Loopholes! By the end of the explanation, she had an interesting expression on her face, one of… excitement?

"We're going to New York?! That's going to be awesome!" She looked over to Miles, her eyes glistening like a schoolgirl in a doll shop. "You can show me all the amazing landmarks that we talked about!"

Miles chuckled. "Yeah… I guess I can."

Brandis snorted. "Good luck with that."  
Miles looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Brandis cocked an eyebrow at him. "Have you not been listening to me this whole time? The nukes weren't just limited to the Commonwealth. They were international. Most cities are destroyed, and those that aren't are home to the gutters of Wasteland society."

Piper scoffed. "You callin' me scum? Watch it, tin man."

Brandis glared at her. "You know I didn't mean you, Piper."

She mumbled. "Yeah, yeah… Let's just get out of here. I don't think I can stay a minute longer." she looked burdened. "Sorry, Brandis. You've been a great help."

He smiled. "Piper, I want you to know something. There is nothing I wouldn't do for you and Miles. Remember that."

Piper had been out of her bed for a while now, and walked over to Brandis and embraced him, the warm, soft, reinforced insulation on her winter battle jacket warming the cold room. "Thank you, Brandis. I won't ever forget what you've done for us."

Miles, feeling very left out, rushed over and got in the hug too. "Group hug!" He squeezed them both. "I love you guys."

They groaned while Miles laughed. Brandis turned to him. "So, there is really only one way to access the New York City area without going through the Glowing Sea, which would be the quick and dangerous way, and that is to head to Albany, and from Albany you head to NYC. The distance from here to Albany, walking distance, is about… 164 miles… and the distance between Albany and New York is about… 149. That comes to the grand total of 313 miles, walking distance."

Miles and Piper gaped. "313 MILES?!" Miles took a deep breath. "We can't… we can't walk 313 miles. That would take more than four days, not including the raiders we would undoubtedly find on the way there. Isn't there some other way?"

Brandis scratched his chin. "Well, we could always use the old clunker out back."

Miles cocked an eyebrow. "Whaddya mean, 'old clunker?' What the hell is it? And why would a clunker be any help to me?"

Brandis laughed heartily. "It's an old, pre-war Chryslus Highwayman. Top of the line before the war, and you know what they say…"

Miles whispered loudly (it's not contradictory, damn it). "Nothing can stop a Highwayman…"

Brandis laughed. "That's right. Not even nuclear fire could stop this sonofabitch." He pointed to the machine. "You can do what you like with it. I don't need it anymore. The Prydwen is coming soon, anyways. There's an old body shop down the road, if you can get it there."

Miles nodded, and shook his hand. "I'll see you on the Prydwen?"

Brandis laughed. "I wouldn't be anywhere else. Good luck to you, Miles. I hope you can finally find your peace."

Piper laughed. "In this place? Peace is a lie, but there are other things. Passion, hope, courage. That's what he needs. But thank you, Brandis. You are the man who just saved our asses."

They waved goodbye to the man, and got in the old machine. Dust covered the dashboard and the odometer, while rust made the car squeak with more determination than a dying mouse. Miles snorted in amusement. "This thing is going to be fun to upgrade…" Suddenly, he remembered his suit of armor. "Piper! Hang on here. I need to get my armor and put it in the back."

It was her turn to be amused. "You think that this rust bucket can hold a suit of power armor? No way in all of the Glow."  
He turned to her. "I know. But Brandis had a trailer attachment added to this thing, so a trailer must be nearby. You look for it while I get the suit." Piper nodded.

He got in the suit of X-01 armor, the fading Enclave emblem covered even more densely by the blue paint that layered on the metal plates. He marched forward to where the Highwayman was to see Piper desperately trying to pull a trailer out of the back of the garage. "Piper… what are you doing?"

She turned to see him there. She responded, her voice strained. "Well… I was, *huff* I was trying to, *huff* trying to pull out the trailer, and I, *huff* I underestimated the sheer force required to pull a trailer made of metal. *huff* Would… would you mind…?"

Miles laughed. "Of course." He walked over to where Piper was playing her unwinnable game of tug of war with the trailer and, with one metal-gloved hand, pulled the gargantuan container forward, hooking the end of it to the Highwayman.

"I did it!" Piper shouted, gleefully. She saw Miles frowning at her. "I mean… we did it…! Yeah!" she said, sheepishly.

Miles disembarked his X-01 inside the trailer and pulled the tailgate shut until it clicked and locked into place. He took out a pair of binoculars and looked to the West. "The Red Rocket stop is right down there. Let's put a fresh fusion core in this baby and drive down there for repairs." They got in the car, and Miles pushed on the gas. The electric motor sputtered at first, but kicked into full gear after the third button of activation. "We have liftoff! Let's roll!" He pressed down on the gas, and it shot forward.

Piper looked amazed. "How fast can this thing go?"

Miles grinned. "Let's find out." He pushed the pedal to the floor. The vehicle sped off at sixty miles per hour, cruising down the narrow path. It screeched to a halt when it arrived at the ruined Red Rocket station, the cables extending down and raising the car a few centimeters off the ground when the occupants had exited and removed the trailer. Miles's body shivered in the cold in spite of the thick battle coat covering his body. He took out a welding torch and helmet and got to work. He first got under the car and shined his flashlight on the underside of the Highwayman, and grunted. "A lot of the vital cogs are rusted over. I could probably improve the performance if I can clear the rust from them." He thought. "Piper! Get me some Abraxo, please!"

Piper looked doubtful. "What could we possibly need Abraxo for?"

Miles groaned. "Just… trust me!" he yelled. Piper ran to fill a tub with Abraxo, ran out, and dropped it next to him. It landed with a thud, and Miles smiled. "Thanks." He rummaged through his backpack until he found a sponge. "Bingo." He slid under the car, pulling the welder's mask over his face. The blowtorch lit up, illuminating the vehicle's dark underbelly. "Goddamn…" he muttered. "There are little rodents living in the belly of this beast!" He got to work removing the rust with a combination of sweat, fire, and Abraxo, and, about four hours later, the car was almost rust-free. Even though Piper got sleepy just by _watching_ him work, he seemed to have even _more_ energy than he went into it with. "Alright. What's next?" The car looked and functioned much better now that it was rust-free, and the original paint job showed itself, a shing black hue flaking off of the car. "Let's renew this paint. Piper, can you help?"

Piper looked up. "Sure. Got any paint in that pack o' yours?" Miles rummaged through his bag and pulled the three items out. "Why the hell are you carrying that junk?" Miles looked at Piper, then at the paint, then back at Piper. He shrugged. "Oh, nevermind. Let's paint this beauty." Although Piper has her flaws, she is apparently a prodigy when it comes to painting and art in general, as Miles would soon find out. She executed the movements with mastery and perfection, her aim always true and not missing a single spot. About two hours later, it was completely painted and restocked with scraps of leather and some new tires, as well as titanium plating that Miles insisted be added.

Miles started laughing with glee. "This thing looks… amazing! The titanium works out so well!" He looked around quickly. "But… one thing is wrong."

Piper looked at him. "What is it, Blue?"  
Miles rummaged in his backpack and pulled out a tiny American flag and a tiny Minutemen flag and placed them on either sides of the hood. "Now… now it's _parfait._ We ride as soon as possible!"  
Piper stared at him. "Please don't tell me we'll be driving for days."  
Miles laughed. "No… no no no. In this thing? At fifty miles per hour? We'll be in Albany in three and a half hours. Tops."

Piper breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. Thought we would take years or some other bull."

Miles nodded. "From Albany to New York it'll probably take three and a half hours, if we take the highway. So, all in all, it's going to be a seven hour drive. Strap in, Piper."

She laughed, and they were off.

- **Farther down the Road** -

Piper stared out the window. "Blue… this is… amazing. Where are we?"

Miles turned to her, his cigarette leaning out the window of the Highwayman. "We're in the Pittsfield area. Another hour, hour and fifteen minutes until we reach Albany." He looked out the window. "This place used to be the main fairway between the two areas. Wouldn't be able to get a few feet without traffic. Now… now I can speed down at fifty with no stops. It's… abnormal. Everything's so… silent. The voices are gone, Piper. The _world_ is gone."

Piper looked concerned. "Miles…? Are… are you alright? Don't go antshit on me… ok?"

Miles snapped out of his haze. "Sorry… It's just… I mean… Seeing these places that I saw before… before _it_ happened…" He exhaled. "Nora and I… we used to drive down the highway, before we had Shaun. We just got in our car, powered it on and drove. Didn't matter where, didn't matter how long it would take. This place… We always stopped in this place." He turned to Piper. "I guess… I guess those are our drives now."

Piper looked wide-eyed. "Was that a romantic… maybe…? No…" she thought. "I can't decide which." She smiled at Miles. "Blue… that's the coolest thing anyone's said to me for a while." She yelled in glee. "I'm riding down a highway at sixty miles, bitches!"

Miles chuckled. "You're crazy, you know that?"

She turned around, a smile still on her face. "Well, duh. You didn't figure that out earlier? No offence, Blue, but I can see where you might be lacking in observation." They laughed. Miles blew out another stream of smoke into the air rushing past the windows, and Piper frowned. "Hey, Blue, I know smoking helps you calm down an' all, but don't you think we could possibly cut down on all that lung cancer? I want to be able to protect you from enemies, but cancer? Not even Sun could treat that, and Sun can treat _anything._ "

Miles chuckled remorsefully. "I… I get it, Piper. I'll cut down on the cigarettes, if only for our friendship's sake."

Piper smiled. "Now that we've once again cheated Death, what's our next move?"

Miles nodded to the sign they were about to pass. "We're about fifteen minutes away from Albany. The population was one hundred thousand pre-war, and I doubt it got much attention during the war."  
Piper looked confused. "Why was it the capital, then?"

Miles looked a bit comical with his thinking face. "It was one of the first cities founded, and it was the seat for the government. New York City was the opposite. It was too diverse to be the seat of the state."

Piper looked unsure. "You sure about that, Blue?" she asked. "I'm not so sure…"

Miles shrugged. "I've forgotten these trivial things over the past year. I've had better things to do."

Piper rolled her eyes and turned to look out the window. The leafless trees flew by the window as she tried to catch a glimpse of the surrounding meadows. "Hey Blue…"

Miles looked at the road. "What?"

She smirked devilishly. "Are we there yet?"

Miles closed his eyes in annoyance and a bit of humor. "No."

"How about now?"

"No."

"Now?"  
"No."

"How about n…"

Miles exhaled deeply. "Piper… you're not a child. We have another thirty minutes 'till Albany. How about you take a nap or something?"

She sighed. "Oh, alright. But when we get to Albany you're taking me straight to the hottest places to get an article from."

Miles laughed. "Of course. I wouldn't miss your awe for the world."

She laughed. "Thanks, Blue. I'll take my nap if you're so dead set on it. Just don't start yelling out and scare the hell out of me." She closed her eyes and rested.

Miles chuckled. "Piper… you're one special woman." He looked out the window, the leafless trees replaced by yellow rolling hills and meadows. He saw small shacks with makeshift roofs, barns with brahmin culled tightly inside of their stalls, he saw… he saw the Old World. He saw wastelanders, no, humans, building back from the devastation that the twenty-third of October had wrought. He thought back to that time. He had had so many plans. He wanted to be there when Shaun took those first precious steps, or uttered those first syllables of a word, wanted to be there to teach him how to read, or ride a bike, or play a game of catch in the backyard. He wanted to be there on his first day of preschool, and wanted to be there when he graduated from college, saying, with pride welling in his heart, "That's my boy." He wanted to explain the world to Shaun; he wanted him to always ask more questions that he couldn't answer. He wanted to delve into the world with Shaun. He wanted to hear his problems; he wanted to hear his accomplishments. He wanted to be there to cheer him on when he fell in love for the first time; he wanted to feel his head on his shoulders when he went through his first breakup. He wanted to be supporting him in whatever he was doing, no matter how far-fetched. He wanted to be patting him on the back when he popped the question; he wanted to be sitting in the front row when he said his vows. He wanted to be there when he got a stable job, help him through those troubling parts of life, be it marriage or taxes. He wanted to be there when he told him that his wife was pregnant, he wanted to be there in the nursery when he held his first grandchild in his arms, he wanted to be there when Shaun did those great things that he always knew he could do. He wanted to watch his grandchildren grow; he wanted to see when he told him, "I guess you were right all along." He wanted to grow old with Nora, go into retirement with smiles on their faces. He wanted to live long enough to see Shaun grow into that man he always knew he could be, and when he died he wanted Shaun to press on with him in his heart. Life cheated him out of something that had seemed so set in stone, immovable, impassable, unchangeable, guaranteed! He wanted that life that his parents always said he would have. He wanted it more than anything else. He wished for a life of peace, he wanted his son to grow up in a world where he need not fear for his life, only fear if he had turned in his paper on time. He wanted a life of harmony, where no man could change or destroy what has already been set into the minds of humans as a guaranteed life, an extended life. He wished, he wanted, he _needed._ But that… that was gone. Everything he'd ever known. Gone. His family. Gone. His home. Gone. His country. Gone. _His world was gone._ He couldn't accept that everything, everything he'd known, everything he'd done, that it was all just _gone!_ He didn't care that people had their own goddamned issues to deal with; they could solve it _without_ nukes devastating the world! He didn't know why people weren't angry. He knew that they weren't around to see the world before all of _this_ happened, but he couldn't help but feel like the entire world was cheated of the life that had been guaranteed for millennia beforehand. He inhaled. He couldn't… he couldn't believe that it was gone. But then… then his thoughts turned to the things he'd seen in the Wastes so far. He'd seen people rebuilding. He'd seen them picking up the pieces from what the War had broken and tried to put them back into place. And his anger, his sadness, his doubt, it all turned into hope. He realized, then and there, that it wasn't already decided for infinity. The world had always been so scared about the apocalypse that they had forgotten one key thing: Humanity always rebuilds. Nature had grown back into the places where most had said it would be unsuitable for any forms of life. He'd heard tales of a town built around a _nuclear fucking bomb._ He realized that he had to remember that humanity is not a single thing. It's a vine. You can kill off huge numbers, but they always grow back. Even though these people had no relation or any sort of life in the Old World, they were rebuilding the things that people thought were exclusive to the knowledge we held, good and bad. We had always feared that the world would plunge into chaos if a nuclear war ever happened, and, to be fair, it did, but we never stopped to wonder what would happen _after_ that war, _after_ that chaos. He knew now. He knew that we had always assumed the worst. What nobody could have predicted was that the opposite would occur. Many had turned to the path of raiding for survival, being criminals and bullies to the survivors. But many others had taken up arms to protect these people, to rebuild. People who had never lived in the Old World, never had been exposed to its teachings, were taking up the cause of virtue to protect those who were incapable of protecting themselves for nothing in return. Their only reward was the knowledge that they were making this land better by protecting those men and women. He was proud and felt privileged, honored, even, to be the leader of an organization that helped out these people. Even though he had felt for a very long time that people were only taught the values of virtue, he saw that humans are, for the most part, completely different. Some are born with the mindset of the triumph of the strong over the weak, and that they are meant to be subjugated. That's the mindset that Miles had long thought we were born with, and we were merely _taught_ virtue and integrity, but he saw that he was wrong. There was another person, the yang to the yin, the man or woman who said that he would not stand to see their fellow man conquered and enslaved, that they would protect the worthy and innocent and punish the weak. There would always be a balance. Some still deceived themselves or others into believing what they were doing is right. These people were the same who made the justifications for launching the nukes, the same ones who became alienated to their first allegiance; not to their country, not to their religion, but to their fellow human beings. They thought themselves greater, and that they were not like those that were 'below' them. He truly saw for the very first time that this, not China, not the United States, hell, not even the military, none of them were to blame. Only the people who believed they were greater than anyone else were the ones who brought about the end. They were the ones who made it so that his world was destroyed. He looked out the window, the rolling hills slowly but steadily being replaced by ruined houses and untilled farmland, and he looked out to see the beginning of what was Albany proper, before the war, at least, and he chuckled once more. He may never get that wondrous feeling of watching his children grow up in a safe world, but he had sacrificed that so that the ones who live on after him in this land could enjoy those fruits of safety. He looked on the hood of the car, the flag of the United States that he had pledged his past life and service to, and the flag of the organization that he had pledged his new life to leading. He couldn't help but feel a sense of great purpose. He had done something that most people never think about. He had served his world, in his previous life and his present one. The city loomed on the horizon as he looked over at Piper. He whispered, not to anyone in particular, "This… _this_ I promise you."

 **Alrighty… that got pretty strong in the end, if I may say so. I had put on this awesome writing for music (link is here** :  watch?v=ShI_fv38qYQ **P.S. I'm sorry I can't stop citing things.) and the ideas just burst through. Sorry if it was a bit too strong for your tastes. I'm not sure how long our favorite Dynamic Duo will be spending in Albany. I'm thinking maybe a half-chapter, or a full one. Tell me which one you prefer, or if you want longer (half-chapter is the minimum, sorry 'bout that :-/). I really loved your reviews, so keep it flowing! I love your ideas for stories; I literally have a Word document I'm keeping all of your ideas on. Your loyalty is pleasing, but do not fail me again (You haven't failed me at all, just had to make some lousy version of a Star Wars reference. ←This person is a nerd). I love you guys so much I could just take your skins as a pelt! Please don't sue me. You are the best! -Valkyrie**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks for your reviews! I'll address a section of the comments singularly, and that section is the Albany question I asked. I decided to do as much of a full chapter due to a lot of people asking for it, and I think it** _ **will**_ **keep your interest. I want to say how awesome it is to see you all here again, and I know that the update schedule is more every few days, and that's a standard I want to try to keep. I'm going to reiterate that the holiday season will keep me waterlogged, but this'll probably go up on the 24th or later. Not sure, hoping for earlier. Without further ado, here is the seventh installment in our wondrous saga!**

 **Day 11, Albany, New York. Early Morning. Piper.**

The heavy hands of Miles shaking her awakened Piper. She shot up in surprise. "What's happening? Who's there?"

Miles laughed. "That's payback for when we were outside Goodneighbor!" he smirked.

Piper rubbed her eyes. "It's so early… what time is it?"

Miles checked his Pip-Boy. "It's about… seven o'clock. Moderately late, Piper."

She threw some purified water on her eyes before Miles grabbed that away. "What the hell?"

Miles glared. "You're using our pure water to wake yourself up? We didn't bring a lot of this, y'know."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "Sorry 'bout that. I'm really tired, for some reason."

He chuckled. "You haven't slept in about a day, so that might be it."

She chuckled too. "Maybe, Miles. Maybe." She looked around the desolate landscape. "So, uh… Where the hell are we? Where's the city?"

Miles laughed. "City? There is no city. Albany only had about a hundred thousand residents anyway. The only real attraction to this place is because of the seat of government and the historic neighborhoods, and its economy. This place was the longest surviving settlement in the U.S., y'know. It was built in… 1690's? I think it was around then. Anyway, it's really goddamned old. People like George Washington had houses here."  
Piper's ears perked in excitement. "George Washington? _The_ George Washington?"

Miles nodded. "Lots of old colonial people lived here. It's probably got some cool artefacts from that time period. Oh, and before I forget, there is one pretty awesome thing."

Piper cocked a brow at him. "Well? What is it?"

A grin reached ear to ear. "They've got a decommissioned battleship in their harbor."  
Piper began to smile as well. "Drive. Drive now."

Miles gunned the engine throughout the desolate cityscape, the buildings that once been the tallest outside of New York proper reduced to rubble and ash. Many of the historic sites had been preserved in the 20th century, only to be destroyed in the one that followed. Had it been for naught? Had everything he'd done, everything he'd sacrificed, been for naught? He remembered those that he had met. Captain Zao. Two hundred years ago, he would have killed the man in a heartbeat. But he saw how remorse had taken his heart in stride. His only hope was that he had reached China once more. He remembered the Vault-Tec salesman who now resided in the Castle; he had always been the sweetest guy, and Vault-Tec took advantage of him. He spat outside the window. Maybe it wasn't that the world needed to be rebuilt, it was that it needed to be reformed. Maybe, just _maybe,_ the Great War was necessary for the world to become a better and more equal place. He thought about this long and hard as they cruised down the road that led to the harbor.

Piper sat in awkward silence as Miles seemed to be zoned out to the max. She looked outside the window to see rows of ruined houses and city centers. "Wow…" she breathed. "This is beautiful…" The glistening Hudson River flew by, and for a minute she swore she could see ships in the morning daylight, the horns blaring as fog descended in the afternoon, and the pale moonlight attracting those sparse few who were night fishing in the dead of night. She saw the things that Miles told stories about, the houses were no longer destroyed but rebuilt. She saw the children walking to school, a peck from their mother on the cheek and a pat on the back from father. She saw their old businesses, a newspaper house far bigger than hers, a life bigger than hers. She saw it all change in an instant. It was peace, cars driving, horns blaring from both the road and the river, and then a flash of blinding, impenetrable light, and then it was dark once more. She opened her eyes. She looked out to see those very same buildings, the ones that dominated the world at one point, reduced to mere piles of rubble and death. She saw skeletal corpses instead of the healthy American lifestyle propagated by the old television shows, she saw that all life could change in an instant, it would all be momentary, fleeting. She snapped back to her more regular self. Was this the cynicism that Miles often expressed about the Old World? She didn't like the feeling of it. It felt so… Pipe. In reality, Pipe might not have been so far away. She felt something stir deep inside the pits of her stomach. Something that wanted to escape. She looked out to the harbor to see the outline of… of _something_ appear on the horizon. As the car progressed forward, it came into view in its fullest.

Miles smiled. "Here it is. The USS _Slater_."

Piper lost her breath. The ship was massive. It was at least three hundred feet long (or ninety metres for you Metric folks), had cannons three times the size of Piper, and was made entirely of pure American steel. She walked over and knocked on the hull of the ship. "This thing… holy hell… It's a warship…" She took out her most trusted friend, her old camera, and snapped a few pictures of the behemoth ship. "This is going in the paper. What else did it have?"

Miles looked at her. "Well, since the U.S. was in a shortage of everything during the Resource Wars, they came close to scrapping the thing. The only thing that stopped them was massive New York protests, and they didn't want to lose more support by breaking up a peaceful protest (although they hadn't had an issue with that in the past), so they agreed. They scrapped the anti submarine mortars and put weapons able to intercept and destroy nukes. Unfortunately, this almost caused the damn thing to sink because it wasn't made to handle that sort of pressure. They had to scrap a lot of the lower deck just to stabilize the equipment. This thing probably fired some of the nuke killers that saved some of the state."

Piper took Miles's hand and he led her inside the massive ship. "This thing was a monster. Could fire major salvos in less than a minute. Didn't see so much combat, though."

Piper looked at Miles inquisitively. "How do you know all this stuff?"

Miles smiled. "I had a lot of downtime when the Reds didn't attack us, and I indulged my lifelong thirst for knowledge. I read, I debated political values, I did whatever let my mind free."

Piper looked up in admiration. "I wish I had the time or the materials to do that. It's something a reporter always wants to know, and that's how to know more things than you really know."

Miles looked confused. "That sentence… never mind." He walked onto the bridge, faint lights pulsating on the dashboard.

Pipe saw the lights pop in the dark room. "What's the deal with those flashes?"

Miles inspected the screen closely. "It's dim, but it looks like one of the nuke killers is still in the casing pod. _Active._ "  
Piper looked unfazed. "So what? It's not like it can hurt us; it's not meant to do that."

Miles stared at her. "Piper. You do know what a nuclear bomb is, right?" She nodded. "You know what they can do, right?" Another nod. "Imagine how much firepower you would have to pack into something to make it blow up."

Her eyes widened in realization. "By the Dweller… if anyone else gets a hold of something of this capacity…"

He nodded. "It could mean that the firepower that devastated the world had once again fallen into the wrong hands."

She looked at him in fear. "What the hell are we supposed to do?!"

Miles held his hand to his hips. "Deep breaths, Piper. All we need to do is disarm it."

She visibly calmed down. "Alright… sounds simple enough… how do we do it?"

He looked uncertain. "Well…" he looked even uncertain. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about nuclear physics, would you?"  
She rolled her eyes. "Oh, _yeah._ You didn't know that I'm a _fucking professor?_ I use all that 'free time' to study the mechanisms of atoms."

Miles turned away. "You didn't need to be so crass about it…"

She huffed. "Well, I guess you could… maybe you could take it…?"

Miles looked amused. "Piper, that's a anti-ballistic missile. Three of them almost single-handedly sunk a _battleship_ just by _laying on it._ The Highwayman is tough, but it's not that tough."

She chuckled quietly. "We could shoot it…"

Miles stared at her. She thought he was going to go completely ballistic (see what I did there?), but he looked… pleased? "Piper… that might actually work."

She stared at him. "Are you being sarcastic right now?"

He shook his head violently. "Seriously. In the original designs of the U.S. ICBMs, the firing switch could be disabled by a precise shot from a powerful pistol, like the .44, the armor piercing versions of the 10mm, like the one I gave you, and some revolvers."  
Piper almost wanted to call bullshit and walk away, but now she was curious. "So, the way to stop the most advanced weapon in history is… _shooting_ it?"

Miles shrugged. "More or less. The issue is that it has to be extremely precise to sever the firing mechanism from the expanding explosion that would occur when detonation begins, so when people wanted to disarm a nuke in the Old World, they got bomb specialists trained especially for doing a much safer way to disarm them; they used materials we don't have." He looked back at Piper. "So, we could either shoot it, sink the entire goddamned ship, or launch it."

Piper looked surprised. "You didn't tell me there were other options. What would happen if we launched it?"

Miles shrugged again. "It would fly into space, targeting a nuclear heat signature to intercept? The hell if I know. I didn't study how these things work. For all I know they have some sort of landline phone. Ain't my area, Piper."

Piper shook her head in disbelief. "So… what do we do? If we try to disarm it, we may very well be sealing our fates permanently, and personally me and Satan don't have a good relationship. But if we try to sink the ship… let's not sink the ship, alright?" He nodded in agreement. "That leaves only the final option: We launch the goddamned nuclear interceptor and it blows up in the atmosphere, supposedly. That seems like the best option at this point."

Miles nodded. "I can try to find something to start the launch sequence…"

Piper looked at the screen. "What about that big ass red button that says _LAUNCH_? That could be it." She replied with sarcasm.

Miles glared at her. "I see that now, Piper." He held his breath. "Alright. We've gone through worse, right?"  
Piper shook her head. "No, this pretty much tops the charts so far."  
Miles rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the encouragement. Let's try not to die." He shut his eyes tight, and pressed the button.

Nothing happened at first. Piper chuckled. "Well, that was anticlimactic." As she finished these words, a siren blared throughout the ship.

" _WARNING! LAUNCH SEQUENCE INITIATED! STAND CLEAR OF BAY DOORS!"_

Their eyes squinted and their mouths fell agape as they looked out the front window onto the deck. The front… the front was _coming off._ In its place was the tip of a warhead, and then the rest began to appear. "Dear God… it's a Zeus…" The rocket began to power up.

 _"LAUNCH WILL COMMENCE IN 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…"_

The rocket rumbled and began to slowly rise out of the bay doors, smoke billowing around it, the entire ship feeling like it might capsize. "HOLD ON!" Miles screamed. He grabbed hold of the side of the ship, and Piper grabbed hold of him. It was almost a comical sight, with Miles draping one arm around Piper to keep her stable and alive, and one arm latched to the guardrail that kept them hanging in the air. The rocket picked up speed, the rumbling becoming a deafening roar as it lifted into the air. The trajectory of the target appeared on the screen. It seemed to be curving left, towards the region of… "California…?"

- **Meanwhile, in the Mojave Wasteland** -

The Courier watched the nuclear warhead speed through the sky. Denver must be eradicated if New Vegas is to prosper under his leadership. Ulysses stood by his side, watching the great missile curve and twist in the atmosphere. He saw something… approaching…? "What in the blazes… Bloody hell, it's another goddamned missile! It's targeting ours! Get it off! Get it off!" Their attempts were in vain. The Zeus rocket collided with the Hopeville missile, the booming explosion that followed knocking them off of their feet. "What… what just happened…?"

- **End of Fallout: New Vegas cameo-**

Piper dusted off her coat. "Thanks." she coughed. "What the hell just happened?"

Miles blinked rapidly. "I'm guessing the missile was too goddamned heavy."  
Piper waved him off. "I know that. But why is the screen flashing ' _TARGET ELIMINATED_?' Should we be worrying that someone just had a nuclear weapon?"

Miles scoffed. "This thing is so old, it's probably gone defunct. Nobody has nukes anymore, nobody. And if they did, what are the chances that it would be fired at the _exact_ same time, at the _exact_ same altitude, at the _exact_ point of contact? That sounds like something an author would do when they were lazy!"

Piper glared. "Well, this isn't a story. It's real life, Blue. I'm just glad that we got rid of this missile." She perked up. "So, what's next?"

Miles looked at her in disbelief. "'Next?' What do you mean, 'next?' That wasn't enough adventure for a few lifetimes for you?"

Piper shook her head adamantly. "A good reporter never leaves out details."

Miles chuckled. "Well, at least the quality of reporters has improved drastically since the War." he muttered. "This place did have the headquarters of some huge companies back in the day. RobCo was partially based here, Chryslus Motors, who else… Ah! Nuka-Cola had a huge bottling plant back in the day. It was where they produced most of that Quantum flavor everyone likes. Never understood it."

Piper smacked her lips. "Nuka Quantum was produced here?" He nodded. "I'll come back to do some… independent research… Taste testing and the like…" she muttered.

He chuckled. "Well, there's not much left to do. Unless you're interested in an old charter that they made, nothing much. The real scenery is going to be in New York City. I'll show you all the cool stuff, like the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty, and the Natural History Museum…"  
Piper smiled widely. "Well? What the hell are we waiting for? Let's go to New York!"

Miles smiled back. "Alright. I can't wait to go back either. There are some more solemn things too."

Piper looked forlorn. "Like what…?"

Miles cast his gaze down. "In the early 2060s, a Communist terrorist group flew planes into buildings all across the country. It was a sad, sad day. I remember the date even now. November 9th, 2061."

Piper looked horrified. "They flew planes into buildings? How?!"

Miles put up his hand. "I'd rather not talk about it." He looked back to the horizon. "Let's go. I want to be able to get to the city before dark so the super mutants won't get us."

Piper still looked sad. "Alright, Blue. Let's… let's go."

Miles smiled unconvincingly. "Thank you." The car started slowly, the motor coughing, but leading into a slow purr. "And we're off…" The town scape of Albany disappeared in the rear view as they gunned the engine down the long highways leading to the city that had once held the hopes and dreams of millions.

- **Farther Down the Road** -

Miles yawned. "Piper… Piper, are you even awake?"

She continued to stare out the car window. "Yes."  
Miles looked uncomfortable. "Do you want to talk?"

More indifference. "No."

Miles turned back. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." She was not alright. In her brain, neurons fired. She had thought that the Old World would be a paradise, but after hearing what he had said… She knew what she had worried was true. She had been in denial, always putting a smug or sarcastic mood on so people would think she was just another worthless reporter, trying to crusade for a long lost value. Ater Miles had come along, she was apprehensive, at least in the beginning. When she figured out just _how old_ he was, their friendship grew. Yes, she fell in love with him, but there was also something else. Fascination. She wanted him to confirm what she had always thought: The Old World was much better than the new. But hearing his cynicism, his disgust about the Old World, she realized that either one of two things was happening; the first option being that this was the most elaborate joke she had ever come across, or she was… _wrong._ But that couldn't be it. Piper Wright is not _wrong._ She is a reporter of the truth, after all. It would be unethical for her to be _wrong._ She couldn't say the word; she hated it. But she knew it was true. She knew that she had made a mistake. As she sunk deeper into thought, the car suddenly screeched to a halt. She was unprepared for the sudden stop, and her face was propelled into the dashboard. "OW! Sonofabitch! I think I broke a tooth!"

Miles looked too concentrated on the figure standing on the side of the road holding up a thumb to care. Without looking away, he tapped Piper's shoulder. "Look."

She had half a mind to make him look at her fist in his gut, but her eyes grudgingly followed his hand. They rested upon a figure wearing an armored merc jacket and bandolier with a hood. Nothing special, probably another raider trying to lure them into an ambush. "It's nothing, Blue. Let's carry on."

Miles refused to falter. "No, LOOK." He pointed farther, under the coat.

She squinted. Under the jacket was… a Vault suit? Intriguing. "Alright. Let's pick 'er up."

Miles opened the door, and the figure rushed in, the snowflakes covering the top of their jacket. They removed their hood. It was a woman with red hair extending down to the end of her neck and piercing hazel eyes. Freckles adorned her face, and she had a genuine smile, rare for a Wastelander. She used that smile just then. "Thanks. I would've died of the cold out there. How the hell did you get a car?"

Miles laughed. "Long story. Speaking of which, if you wouldn't mind me asking, what's yours? You're miles away from any inhabited settlements, and the city is an hour away."

The woman's ears perked up. "Did you say New York?"

He cocked an eyebrow. "No, I said the city, but that's what I was implying, yes."

She breathed an audible sigh of relief. "You wouldn't happen to be heading there, would you?" Miles nodded. "Thank God. Will you bring me there? Next to that building where that British musician got shot? You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Miles smiled. "West 72nd Street, Dakota building."

She gaped. "How did you… know that?"  
He smirked devilishly. "Tell me your name and how you got that Vault suit, and I'll tell you how I know."

Her curiosity got the best of her. "Damn me. Fine. My name is 'Cary Ross.' I was in a vault. Vault 34."

Miles nodded. "That seems to be slightly plausible. Fine. This may be very hard to believe, but I was in a Vault too. Vault 111."

Cary's curiosity piqued. "Any relation to Vault 101?"

Miles shook his head. "Never heard of it. Anyway, I was born in 2045, and I was cryogenically frozen for two hundred years."

She looked amazed. "Seriously? You've seen the world? How wa…"  
Piper interrupted. "I bet we'll have a great time talking about all this when we're driving again. The less time we spend here, the more time we get in New York to find Pipe." She stopped herself after saying their mission, but Cary didn't seem to have heard her.

"So is this your wife or something?"

Miles and Piper stared at each other, blushing, and then burst into forced and strained laughs. "No… no no no… we're just friends…"

Cary snorted. "I knew a girl once. We were 'just friends' for a while, and then it escalated." Cary looked over to Miles. "Even you know that term is complete bullshit."

Miles chuckled nervously. "I wouldn't… I wouldn't say _that…_ I mean… um…"  
She moved on to Piper. "So, where are you from?"

Piper looked pleased that the woman was interested in her. "I'm from the Commonwealth. Work at a newspaper, trying to take down some cheeky scientist bastards."  
Miles sighed. "Piper…"  
She stared. "What?!"  
Miles sighed again. " **Piper** …"

She huffed. "Fine…" she snorted. "I met this guy when he was looking for his kid, and we became friends. Then something really confusing happened that we'd rather not discuss."

Cary smiled. "Alright. How's the kid search going?"

Miles perked up. "Great! It's going _really, really_ great."

Cary chuckled. "Alright then… looks like we're going to avoid that topic for now… So, uh… how far away are we?"

Miles smiled again. "We've been driving for about forty minutes since picking you up. We're in the city right now."

Piper darted to the window. She saw thousands of husks of steel frames, buildings condemned to live forever as skeletons in the city they once dominated, their occupants long dead, long gone. The ones that remained were the remnants of the post-war survivors. "Dear god… I thought the city wasn't entirely destroyed…"

Cary shook her head. "It wasn't. This is only a section of the city. Central Park West was mostly untouched, but the structural damage that did occur only toppled a few buildings. However, the radiation carried over, and it killed most of the survivors not already in bunkers."  
Piper looked surprised. "Oh. That makes sense, I guess. So… what's that big building over there?"

Cary cringed. "That's the Empire State Building. It was the main target, so it was also the most protected. Central Park had been given some 'upgrades' in the form of small but useful missile defense tools. The city was basically already destroyed." She looked up at the towering feature. "It fended off most attacks, but they landed one right outside the bay, in New Jersey. Took out most of the city." She saw the streets get more familiar. "We're almost there." She saw the spires of the Dakota building peak into the sky. "Stop here."

Miles took her hand. "Let me lead you out." His battle coat swept in the snowy area. He jumped out of the front seat.

Cary smiled. "Why, thank yo…" She noticed something… shiny? It appeared to be… _holotags?_ She pulled out a plasma pistol. "Where did you get those?!" she yelled.

Piper jumped out of the car and pulled out her 10mm and pointed it at her. "Drop the goddamn gun, you psychotic bitch!"  
Miles quickly drew his own laser pistol as well. "Put the gun down, Cary."  
She yelled again. "Why do you have those!?"  
Piper took aim, but then she saw the same glint around her neck. "Miles… look."

He saw. "Cary!" He set his gun on the ground. "I'm a member of the Brotherhood too."

Not dropping her gun, she walked over. "Like hell you are." She snatched his tags off his neck. They simply read the following: _Name: Miles Abraham Mackenzie, Born: 2045. Rank: Paladin. Blood Type: O. Serial Number: 156382. Maxson._ She smiled. "Little Arthur is growing up…"

Piper looked flabbergasted. " _Little Arthur?!_ What the hell do you mean, _Little Arthur?!"_

Cary lay down her gun. She tore the holotags off of her neck and threw them back to him. They too simply read the following. _Name: Scarlett Catherine Fremont. Born: 2258. Rank: Sentinel. Blood Type: AB+. Serial Number: 18573. Lyons._ Miles gaped. "You're… you're…"

Scarlett smirked. "You can come out now, boys!" Heavily armored Brotherhood of Steel senior scribes and Paladins emerged, each bearing the insignia of Lyon's Pride. "You can call me _Scarlett_ , by the way. And, before we go any further, yes, I am the so-called ' _hero of the Capital._ ' Hate that name. Always connotates achievement." She looked at him. "Oh, by the by, I was lying about the whole 'Vault 36' thing. I'm from 101." She looked at the compartment in the trailer. "What's in the box?"

Piper chuckled. "Let's get 'er open." She flung the door open wide, with the gleaming armor revealing itself. Miles hopped in the back, his holotags draped across his armored neck, and began powering up.

"Alright." a mechanical voice sounded. "Let's roll."

Scarlett laughed. "My god… You got those old X-01s?" she looked reminiscent. "I remember these old clunkers… hit 'em where it hurts. and they go down." She looked up at him. "How's Maxson doing as Elder? Any better than Sarah was?"

He chuckled. "You wouldn't happen to know that she's dead, would you?"

Scarlett sighed. "I knew it would happen eventually. She was too enthusiastic, too peppy, too headstrong. Hell, but I loved her."

Piper looked shocked. "You were lovers! You're not any more devastated?!"

Scarlett stared at her. "We were more than that, sweetheart. The issue is, I watched my father _die_ and put his hand up against the glass to kill a guy who _didn't really die!_ And then I had to watch so many of my comrades die, I had to make sure Moira didn't do anything stupid when she wanted to get firsthand making the Survival Guide."  
Piper gaped. "YOU were the Lone Wanderer who helped make _the_ Wasteland Survival Guide?"

She cocked a brow. "What? Is it big now or something?"  
Piper scoffed. "Yes. It is very, very big."

Scarlett looked visibly confused. "Alrighty then…" she cleared her throat. "And _furthermore,_ I've had to shoot my friends in their head because they _begged_ for the pain to stop. I care, girly, but I take loss in a whole new way now." She had an impromptu staring contest with Piper for about a minute before looking back up. "Back to the main point… I believe that we are both first hand eyewitnesses of the horrible experiments Vault-Tec does to people. This one though… it's a whole new level of fucked up."

"What? What happened?" Miles asked, probingly.

Scarlett brought out a picture that one of the Scribes had documented. "See what that is?"

"Is that… human flesh…?"

She nodded. "The fucking bastards only put a food supply that was fit for fifteen years, and they had to resort to extreme measures to survive."

Miles gaped. "You have a Vault filled with _cannibals_?!"

Scarlett wagged a finger. " _Had_ a Vault filled with cannibals. Those Vault Tec bastards didn't open the door after the twenty years. They held it for fifty. A last 'fuck you' to the guys who had just eaten their families." she spat on the ground. "Disgusting." She looked back at him. "Before we go any further, I want to ask you a question."

Miles nodded. "Hit me."

"How would you like to become a member of the Lyon's Pride?"  
Miles smiled. "But of course!"

Scarlett took out a small sticker, similar to one you would see in a doctor's office, and slapped it to his armor. "Welcome to the force!" She saw his confusion. "Due to lack of spray paint, we can't actually give you any official tag or anything. That is, however, a Captain Cosmos sticker. Limited edition."

Miles chuckled. "What's the plan, ma'am?"

Scarlett laughed. "That… that remains to be seen."

 **Hiya guys! That's a wrap for chapter seven! Don't worry about Piper, not even the goddamned Lone Wanderer can disrupt her being the object of my love in this fan fiction, and she will appear far more often than Scarlett. I'm thinking of keeping Scarlett (temporarily). Tell me what you think in the reviews right down there! As always, hugs and kisses! Love you guys! -Valkyrie**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello all! It is the wonderful Valkyrie in the flesh, producing stories for your enjoyment! I know the last chapter was a bit iffy, wasn't my best, but I hope to make it up to you. The search for Pipe** _ **will**_ **resume very shortly. Let me know if you guys want to see Piper and Miles (and maybe Scarlett) tour the New York area (it might become a goddamned history lesson, I'm sorry about that) and all that jazz. I don't want to bore you with history, so just tell me whether you want to hear it or not. No new reviews :-(, but if you want something in the story, you post it and I will write it in just like Momma used to make! In any case, welcome to the newest installment in our turnabout adventure!**

 **Day 12, New York City. Vault 42 Exterior. Miles, Piper, and Scarlett**

Miles awoke late in the morning, the sounds of the birds chirping making him think he was still dreaming. He looked over to see the door to the ruined apartment open, and he heard voices outside the door. "Scarlett, would you mind if we did an interview sometime?"

The woman laughed. "Sure, Piper, sure. Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

Piper nodded. "Miles seems to trust you, so I think I can trust you with the real reason for our arrival. You wouldn't have happened to see someone with a sniper rifle, looked just like me?"

Scarlett shook her head. "What was her name?"  
Piper sighed. "She goes by Pipe, but that probably wasn't the name she gave you." She thought through the false names she gave herself. "She might have gone by Rebecca Watson?" Scarlett shook her head. "Aurora Smith?" She shook her head again. "Hannah Watson?"

Scarlett stared. "Did you say Hannah Watson?" She nodded. "I saw a Hannah Watson. She said that she was going somewhere to the…" She saw the anticipation on her face. "No… first, you gotta do something for me."  
Piper looked somewhat provocative. "Didn't know you were into me, Wanderer."

Scarlett almost bursted with laughter. "No, no, oh God no. Nothing like that. As you know, we've been trapped here for longer than we can remember. We think we may have found a way to get out."

Piper stared at her. "Well? What is it?"

Scarlett sighed. "Our vertibird beacon was busted when we crash landed in this area. We think we might have pinpointed the location of a replacement part that could be used to call one back here."

Piper looked confused. "Miles could just use his Pip-Boy to call one here."

Scarlett shook her head. "No, that's not the point. The part is also Old World tech, something we don't want the wasteland getting their hands on."  
Piper nodded. "So we need to go get it? Sounds simple enough."

Scarlett scratched her neck. "Yeah… no. The part is in the Empire State Building."

Piper looked like a child. "The Empire State Building?! Let's go!"

Miles walked out to their conversation, bed hair apparent in his disheveled appearance. The battle coat that was draped around him was heavier and more protective than most armor he had found in the wasteland, so, even without the cold winter air, it was usually draped around him. "Hold on there, Piper." he muttered, groggily. He turned to Scarlett. "Why are we goin' there when you have this big ass group of highly-trained killing machines at your disposal?"

Scarlett turned a bit red. "Funny story…" Her response drew a questioning glare from Miles, and she promptly responded. "The Empire State Building turned into a hotbed for Super Mutants when the Enclave let the F.E.V. testing go amok, and their forces there are led by a Behemoth who calls himself 'The Decider.' He's a first generation."

Miles looked confused. "What's a 'first generation?'"

Scarlett looked him over. "A first generation super mutant is one of the first supes to come out of the vats of F.E.V. at Mariposa. Intelligent, big, ugly, strong. That's basically how you define the damned things. One of the first Behemoths, no doubt. When the Dweller killed the Master in the 2100s, these assholes were scattered. I've met a few with whom I've become very good friends with; in fact, there's one at the Citadel right now." She drifted off. "Back to the point at hand. We believe if we sent in a smaller strike team to just get the artefact and get out, we can have a wonderful time watching the airstrike that will commence on the building."

Miles looked shocked. "Airstrike?! But that's… that's a piece of American pride!"

Scarlett snorted. "America? America's dead, pal. Now, do you want a Behemoth on the loose, or do you agree that we go Wagner on this building once you get that artefact?"

Miles rolled his eyes. "Fine. But you owe us, big time."  
"Yeah!" Piper followed.

Scarlett rolled her eyes in turn. "Okay, okay. You get a favor later. For the meantime, though, you go get the artefact _I'm trying to keep out of the hands of madmen_ for us, ok?"

Miles nodded. "Let's lock and load."

Piper stared at him. "Never say that again."

 **Day 12, Empire State Building Exterior. Piper and Miles.**

Piper stood, frozen in awe, as she stared at the building. It was… "Enormous…"

Miles laughed. "Yep. The thing's one of the biggest buildings in the country. Over _one hundred_ stories high." He sighed contentedly. "It's a pinnacle of good ol' American engineering." he looked over to her. "Take a picture. It'll last longer."

The shutter clicked. "Way ahead of ya, big guy." She remembered their mission. "This thing… they're really going to blow it up?"  
Miles shook his head. "We're not going to let them. If we take out this 'Decider' fellow, then there's no need to making the building go boom, right?" Piper nodded. "Then that's exactly what we do."  
Piper gleamed. "Blue, I love your moxie."

Miles smiled back at her. "Using some Old World slang? Nice going, Piper."

She smiled. "Well, what's the plan?"

Miles stared. "I have no idea."

Piper looked a bit startled, then a bit snarky. "The great Blue doesn't have a plan? Someone call the press!" She seemed to realize that she _was_ the press just after she said this, but she didn't correct her statement.

Miles scoffed. "Fine. According to Scarlett, there are a lot of mutants in here, right?"

Piper stared back. "And your point is…?"

He rolled his eyes. "It would be very stupid to go in guns blazing. We would be _very, very_ dead." Piper nodded. "My plan is to reach the top, where the big boss most likely is going to be, and then kill him. Simple."  
Piper stared. "If the building is infested with mutants, how are we going to get to the top without being spotted? And, even more important, how are we going to get to the top?"

Miles thought for a moment. "If the elevator still works…"

Piper glared at him. "Do you truly believe the elevator still works after a nuclear war and two hundred years past its maintenance date? How are we going to get up there, Blue?"

Miles grunted. "We could try the stairs… But the thing is over a hundred stories tall. That's a lot of stairs."

Piper glared even more. "Are you serious?"  
Miles rolled his eyes. "Fine. We'll take the stairs. Let's just go."

Piper nodded. "Off we go, I guess."

 **Day 12, Empire State Building Interior. Miles and Piper.**

Piper looked around. "There's nobody here…" Her voice echoed throughout the deserted floor of the building.

Miles whispered back. "The Pip-Boy isn't detecting anyone here…"

He heard a voice crackle over his Pip-Boy frequency. " _-fzzt-_ Miles? _-bzzt-_ Need to find _-pop-_ transponder… _-scree-_ ninety-second floor… _-ree-_ know you're there… _-crackle-_ be careful!"

Miles looked concerned. "Scarlett? Scarlett?" He sighed. "Must be something messing with my interface, some sort of jamming frequency."

Piper cocked a brow at him. "Doesn't matter, Blue. We'll get this 'interceptor' and take down the behemoth, and then we'll be gone."

Miles scoffed. "Easier said than done. Let's start our climb."

The first ten flights of stairs passed quickly, without much incident. A few radroaches, a few bloat flies, the usual. Then, when they reached the fifteenth floor, a voice resonated throughout the building. "Humans…" the voice garbled. "Turn back now, and you may still be spared. The equipment you seek does not belong in the hands of you… be gone!"

Piper looked upwards, toward the intercom speaker, and scoffed defiantly. "Yeah right, green man. We aren't leaving until we get that tech. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

The voice groaned. "Again, you humans torment us. We were part of…"

Piper waved her hand around like a fake mouth. "The Master's army." she mocked. "We get it. The thing is, your Master is dead. You're going to be in even worse shape if you don't hand over that interceptor thingy."

The voice grew low and angry. "You shall see the full power of the super mutants, ingrate. Prepare to be destroyed!"  
The walls began to slowly shake. "What the hell… Piper?! What did you do!?" Miles yelled.

Piper shook violently. "I didn't do anything!" She heard footsteps. "Blue! I think we got company!"

They dove for cover as the first frag grenade hit the area where Miles had been standing. The shaking increased violently, then subsided. "Mutants! Lots of 'em!" He yelled.

Piper took out her combat shotgun (not Miles's, I know their weapon choice gets confusing.) and let loose a hail of bullets. The muzzle break she had installed let her fire maelstrom after maelstrom of bullets with almost no recoil, and she decorated the walls with holes. Miles took out the minigun he only used with his power armor and spun the barrel until he could barely breathe due to the gunpowder coming off of the gun. The mutants, however, were not deterred. They charged the cover, knocking Miles to the ground. Even with his X-01 armor, his vision began to blur. He heard yelling, and looked over to see Piper being carried off by the mutants that had rushed the position. He gargled out sounds that sounded slightly like coughing, and then fell into a haze.

- **Later** -

 _Vitals stabilizing. Chance of cranium damage has reduced to: .0001 percent. Injecting stimulant._ Miles felt a jab against the inside of his power armor, and jolted up. "Adrenaline shot… glad I got that thing installed." He remembered what had occurred. "Piper…" He slowly lifted up his body, putting hand in front of hand until he slowly stood up to his full armored height.

He heard a voice come clearer over his Pip-Boy. "Miles?! _-fzzt-_ Are you alright?!"

He put the Pip-Boy closer to his voice modulator. "I'm fine. The mutants took Piper."

The voice looked distressed. "Oh god… You need to get her out of there."

Miles looked confused. "I was expecting something like 'leave her behind' or that."

The voice continued. "She means something to you. Kill the mutants and get her back, Miles."

He nodded. "Alright. I'll call back when I have the device and Piper." He pushed onwards through the flights of stairs and to the place where the only person that he had cared about in a long time was being held captive. He would set her free.  
The majority of the flight up the stairs passed quickly, however bloodthirsty Miles had become. When he found small pockets of supes, he tore into them with his fury, taking so much joy in destroying them piece-by-piece. When he arrived on the fiftieth floor, the intercom sparkled again. "Human… You have nothing left to live for. Your world is gone. Why do you return to this place? Leave, and your life will be spared."

Miles didn't acknowledge the voice, only taking out a gun and shooting the speaker into oblivion. He cared not what the beast said. It knew not the feelings that emotions conveyed. He would sooner die than let some twisted freak of a man take the companion that he had shared everything he ever knew, every secret, every inside joke that only the two of them made. He felt the urge to scream. He knew not why and he still did not care. Everything started to muffle. He remembered the people that he had once known. His friends from college. His fellow city councilmen. His neighbors. His parents. His wife. His son. They had all been taken away from him. He was looking at himself from above, an out of body experience. He saw a broken man, a man who was an enigma in more ways than even he had imagined. He saw a soul that was dying, crushed under the weight of his own burdens, under the realization that this _was not his time._ He was a being that was not supposed to be _alive._ He began to cackle, almost uncontrollably. He had cheated Death once again. He looked skyward, and when he saw the spire of the massive building he remembered his original quest. He took a deep breath. He may be a man out of time, but he would make this time his, no matter the consequences. He slowed back into reality, invigorated by the thought of protecting the one thing that he had left in this world. He looked at the floor. "Seventy-eight." He walked onwards in silence. Flight after flight passed, until the ninety-second floor peeked out of the corner of the building. "Now… where are you…?" A beeping noise resonated out, breaking the unnerving silence. "The transponder?" He walked forward, putting foot after foot slowly and carefully. He reached the source of the beeping to find a device that looked like something you would find when you took apart a Stealth Boy. "Scarlett… is this the machine you guys need?"

The voice came clearer now, the disruptor seeming to be offline. "I'm getting the tech reading now… Yes!"

Miles looked it over in his hand quizzically. "Doesn't look like a transponder."

Scarlett sounded impassive. "Eh. All I know is that it's old, and we need it. Now that this little prize in in our possession, you still have a job to do."

Miles's expression morphed into a twisted grin. "I know."

The voice emitted anger. "Kill those abominations, get Piper, and I daresay that you lot have earned your information."

Miles had already shut off the machine by the time she finished talking. His mind honed in on the true reason that he had pushed forward to this point. _"Piper."_ he muttered.

The intercom sparked again. "Human… you try my patience. Very well. You wish to die this day? I will acknowledge your wishes." The intercom sputtered off.  
Miles pushed onwards, the absence of super mutants discomforting. "Must be mostly dead… or with their boss." He pushed onwards into the building, floors flashing by. When he reached the top, he saw that the path to the roof overlook was blocked, and he grunted. "Guess we're not going to get to look at the beautiful glow the city gives off." He looked around for the mutant, and then heard a familiar sound. It was… clapping?

"Well done, human. You have braved my hordes, and now you seek to exterminate me." He moved to the side, revealing Piper, tied to a chair, gagged. "You come for the girl, do you not? Many have had similar reasons for these kinds of escapades. It seems that you are blinded once again by…" he spat. "Emotion." He once again turned to face Miles, the gargantuan figure only raising the intimidation factor that he emitted.

Miles scoffed. "You've got it all wrong, big guy." he smirked. "I don't need emotion to kill you." He exited his suit of power armor, his battle coat fluttering in the freezing wind that accompanied the season and elevation. "I only need a shitload of ammo and a big fucking gun." He pulled out his minigun, the adrenaline being the only thing giving him the strength to lift the massive weapon. "And guess what?" He grinned, blood dripping from his mouth. "I've got them both, you sonofabitch." The barrel spun faster and faster until a deafening noise emitted from the gun.

The mutant was pushed back, almost falling off the building. "Human… your arrogance will be your downfall. Now… _die!"_ The mutant tore off a section of the uneven flooring and flung it at Miles.

He ducked out of the way, but not before the huge chunk of the pavement impacted with his hips. "Gagh!" He slowly raised his body, fragments of reinforced wood jutting out from his legs. He screamed, not in pain but in blind fury. He crawled over to where his minigun lay, untended and warm. "You… have no idea… who you're messing with…" He picked up the machine. "And now… I'm going to enjoy watching you die." The next hail of bullets impacted with the mutant's torso, pushing him back until he tripped off of the building. Miles exhaled heavily. "It's over…" He ran over to Piper and undid her gag.

She broke free of her bonds, embracing Miles. "You did it! You killed him!"

She had spoken much too soon. Even Miles's luck runs out at some point, and at this moment in time, it appeared Lady Luck was displeased. He heard a rumbling as a giant green hand pulled itself up. The mutant seemed to have grown even taller than it once was. It let out a roar and grabbed Piper in its hands. "You will pay for this insolence, human!" it thundered. It tore out of the building, clearing the path to the observation deck.

Miles pulled himself up and into his suit, the hum of the machinery calming his rogue mind. The sensors activated, and he felt the stimpacks course throughout his body. He exhaled, his breath shaking. He tromped up the now open path and when he reached the top an interesting sight awaited him. The behemoth had jumped onto the spire of the building, out of reach of most of Miles's weaponry.

The mutant sensed his presence and turned. "You are nothing! Nothing! I am the pinnacle of evolution, the super mutant! I am the greater being! You… you are inferior! I will squash you like the bug you are!" He began flinging pieces of the roof at Miles, the wind carrying most of them very off target.

Piper did what she typically did when a behemoth carried her to the top of the Empire State Building. She began punching the being relentlessly. "Let me go, you piece of shit! I am Piper goddamned Wright! Nobody messes with Blue without going through me!"

Her blows barely tickled the giant green mutant. It let out a thundering laugh. "No. I've already gone through you, human. No, the only person who should be scared is you. After I kill this 'Blue,' you are next." That only made Piper punch the beast harder.

Miles chuckled. "You don't understand, do you?"

The mutant turned to stare at him. "What, human? Do you want to plead for your companion's life? Beg me for mercy? Tell me the lies that you peddle around? That we are alike? That we can live in harmony? You humans have always tried to become the Alpha, leaving us to be the lower than the Omega. But when we are done here, the tendrils of our supremacy will once again spread across the Wastes, and the vision of our Master will finally be realized! Nobody, not even the humans that call themselves 'heroes' or 'protectors' can stop us now! You could have turned back when you had the chance, but you didn't. And now, you will pay the ultimate price for your insolence."

Miles shook his head. "Nope. Wasn't planning on saying that." He turned to Piper. "I was planning on saying NOW!"

In one fluid motion, Piper slid free from the grasp of the mutant, jumping towards Miles. As the behemoth began to roar, Miles pulled out the Fat Man he had found outside Goodneighbor and put the only mini nuke he had in the launcher. Uttering a quick prayer to whatever deity happened to be listening at the time, he pulled the trigger. The bomblet flew through the air, and when the mutant saw it, his eyes widened. It impacted with the behemoths chest, and as he was propelled off of the building, he grasped in vain for anything to keep him upright. He tried to grab the spire, but the explosion had rendered it even more unstable than before, and it broke off in his hands. As the mutant fell one hundred stories down to the pavement below and to death, his screams echoed throughout the city. When the dust cleared, Piper arose, covered in soot. She took her red bandana and placed it over her mouth, blocking out the ash that fluttered around in the air. "That… was… AWESOME!" She looked over at Miles, who was still rendered speechless by the fact that his plan had worked. Her winter coat was blackened as she let out another whoop of victory. "Can we do it again?!"

Miles slowly shook his head. "Not even if I wanted to." He turned over to Piper. "Are you alright?"

She looked amused. "Blue that was amazing! I can't believe that actually worked. Like, really worked. I'm all like 'you won't take me alive' and then you're all like 'surprise, motherfucker' and then he's like 'Noooo!' and then…" she gasped for breath. "That was fucking amazing. Let's leave it at that."

Miles chuckled. "Glad to hear you're ok. We've got the… transponder thingy… and all that's left is getting this thing back to Scarlett."

"That info better be worth it…" Piper muttered.

 **Day 12, New York City. Vault 42 Exterior. Miles and Piper.**

Scarlett looked the machine over carefully. "Yeah… that should do it." She turned to the west, and let out a yell. "Forsythe! Bring that vertibird signal over here!"

A voice responded promptly. "Yes, ma'am." The man that the duo guessed was "Forsythe" entered the room, carrying a small machine similar in size and shape to a black box.

Scarlett took it, thanking the man. "And here we are. Easy enough, right?" She pressed the button. It began to blink.

Piper looked worried. "Is that a good blinking or a bad blinking? I'm not really in the mood to go find yet another piece of equipment, if that's alright with you."

The woman laughed. "No, no. This is working quite well." She turned to Miles. "And yes, I will call off the vertibird strike. I must say, it was a pleasure to work with you."

Miles smiled. "Same over here. Now I know why Piper kept bugging me about how great you were when I was trying to sleep last night. Now, can we get our reward?"

Scarlett nodded. "You've earned it more than anyone I know. I'll tell you what I know." She cleared her throat. "Our unit saw a woman, she had her face cloaked, but she was carrying a sniper rifle, looked like it had been recently used. When we stopped her to ask her business, she was very co-operative, even giving her name. I see now that was most likely an alias, but she gave the name of Hannah Watson, and when we asked where she was planning on heading, all she said was that she was going 'back to where it all began.' She left to the west, heading toward NCR territory, probably close to the homeland."

Miles shook his head. "I don't get it. What could possibly be in California? The military didn't have any huge bases there, not anything Pipe would be interested in, at least."

Piper glanced at him. "Blue, there _is_ something in California. Have you not been listening to me when I tell you the history of our great Wasteland?"  
Miles looked sheepish. "It's not my fault that I have the attention span of a rock, so don't get on my case about it. Just… what's in California?"

Scarlett pointed at the door. "I'm going to let you guys be alone for a while… don't mess up the carpet."

Piper seemed oblivious of Scarlett's remark, and continued. "When the Vault Dweller came out of Vault 13, his mission was to collect the water chip, right?"

Miles nodded. "So what? I don't understand how that makes any difference in what we were talking about. How is a water chip going to affect the world in any means?"  
Piper sighed. "He also had another mission, you know that. The Mutant Army, you dimwit."

Miles exhaled. "Oh yeah… that thing… the thing with the mutant army…"

She crossed her arms. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" Miles shook his head. "By the Glow… The Master. He was the leader of the mutants."

Miles nodded. "I know. The weird guy with the Swiss cheese body and a hyper intelligent brain. Again, so what?"

Piper seethed. "The Master also had a Plan B. You remember what that was, right? Please tell me you remember this, at the very least. In his base in Mariposa, what did he have? I'm not your elementary school teacher and what I'm asking you isn't the most difficult line of questioning in the world."

Miles scratched his chin. "He had… some sort of doomsday device, right?"

Piper sighed in relief. "More or less. He had a nuclear bomb."

Miles's eyes widened in disbelief. "He had a _nuke_ nuke, not a mini nuke or something like that?"

Piper groaned. "No! He had a nuclear weapon. I don't see why you don't understand what I'm saying."

Miles put his hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright. Sorry. Continue, please."

Piper let out a grunt. "The nuke was never used. Even the Master realized that that was a last ditch scenario. But if Pipe gets to Mariposa and somehow gets past the NCR, Dweller knows how, she could launch it. She could end it all. And remember what Pipe said?"

Miles slowly nodded. "Piper… she want to 'make me hers,' which, suffice to say, creeps the hell out of me, but it also means that she would go to _any measure._ "

Piper looked like a mother urging on a toddler. "And…?"

Miles stared back at her. "She would destroy the last remnants of everything I care about."  
Piper looked solemn. "The Commonwealth. You finally realize."

Miles nodded quickly. "If she destroys everything I care about, all she has left is you. If… no, _when_ you die by her hand, nothing will stop her from trying everything to get me, with _no opposition._ We need to stop her, Piper. We need to stop Pipe before the Commonwealth pays the price for my mistakes."

Piper shuddered. "Alright. We're doing this? We're killing Pipe?"

Miles nodded again. "It's the only option we have left at this point."

Scarlett walked through the door, her lips smiling broadly. "The vertibird is here." They walked outside with Scarlett, the roaring hum of the engines of the aircraft emanating through the area. She turned to face them. "I can't thank you enough. If you guys hadn't come along, we would probably have died here. If you're ever in the Capital, look me up. I'd be more than happy to talk."

Piper grinned. "Always good to help out one of Blue's fellow tin cans!" In a more hushed tone, she whispered, "If we ever meet again, I want that interview."  
Scarlett whispered back. "I'll just have to take you up on that little offer, then." She jumped onto the aircraft, the engines whirring as they picked up speed, lifting off into the air. She waved to them, and the duo waved back.  
"Wow…" Miles said. "That was quite the show, wouldn't you agree?"

Piper nodded. "Is it time to hit the road once again?"

Miles nodded. "If we don't, Pipe might…"

Piper rolled her eyes. "I get it, I get it. But can't we stay around here a bit longer? You promised me that we would see the sights."

Miles sighed. "Fine. Let's take a quick look around, and if you see any sight that you want to look at, you just holler as loud as as proud as you possibly can, alright?"

Piper nodded, enthusiastically. "Alrighty then. I want the scoop, Blue. No skipping the gory, gruesome details. That's the stuff readers _love._ "

The Highwayman sped off into the distance, the city folk overjoyed that they had been freed from the clutches of the Decider and his horde. Without even realizing it, Piper and Miles had once again changed the lives of an entire city by just one simple move. Once again, the Wasteland was forever changed, even if it was one small step at a time. And even though Pipe was no doubt already on her way to the Mariposa base, they knew that she wouldn't launch it until she knew that Miles was close by. Her sense of poetic justice and her knowledge of Miles's survival would cement that fact. And, as Piper always says, if you break a promise, I'll claw out your eyes.

 **Hoo boy! That's a wrap, everybody. I know these chapters are getting progressively shorter, sorry about that. To those who were confused about why Piper flirted with Scarlett, Piper is actually confirmed to be bisexual, not just player sexual, as shown when she flirted with Magnolia (which was actually hilarious for me). I hope you guys are enjoying reading these as much as I enjoy writing them, and please,** _ **please,**_ **don't be afraid to suggest something that you think would make this more entertaining. I don't take offense to it, and I don't want my content to bore you guys. I need to know this stuff! Tell me! In any case, you guys are the best, and I really can't stress how much it means to me that you guys take interest in the ramblings of a fan. -Valkyrie**


	9. Chapter 9

**Greetings! Some new reviews! Queen Cellos: Thank you! I am a worrier, I really can't suppress it, but I have to say what people encourage me to do with these makes me happy. I will be incorporating more emotion (and maybe more sex scenes, but I'm building up the suspense) into the chapters. HoneyClaw: That damned Fallout withdrawal. I know the feel. I just didn't want to go the cliche route, and so my mind settled on this. I always have the urge to just write in a happy ending and get it over with, but even I'm not sure what the next chapter will be, and I'm honored that you even mention much less compare me to the great works written on this website for F3 and FNV. They are my inspirations, truly. Thank you nonetheless. Sorry for the late update, I dislocated my arm and broke a few ribs in a bicycle accident and that made it pretty hard to write. Anyway, I'm making these shorter, so without further ado, here is the next chapter!**

 **Day 13, New York, New York. Piper and Miles. Morning.**

The Highwayman was snugly resting in between the ruined combat jeeps stationed in front of the seemingly innocuous structure. Most passer-by in this day and age would probably think it had already been looted and would have dismissed it, but Miles, like most of the men and women who lived in the Old World, knew better. He gently blew out a stream of smoke, knowing that if Piper caught him she would chew him up and spit him out worse than anything he had ever seen, but he didn't care. He was stressed to the maximum throughout the situations that had occurred throughout the previous week, and as the old saying goes, 'old habits die hard.' He began to close his eyes until loud footsteps shot him into action. He quickly dropped the cigarette and mashed it into nonexistence under his insulated combat boots.

Piper walked to the door and stopped dead in her tracks. She had meant to go outside, swear by the Dweller she did, but it was just so cold and she had just gotten warm, so she did what any person would do. She waved to Miles, and began to shout. "Oi! Blue! Over here!" His attention turned to the welcomed noise. Piper stood at the entrance to the building, signalling to Miles. As he walked up to the building, he instinctively glanced upwards. The bronze-plated words, faded but still proud, rested above the double doors. "12th District Federal Reserve…" he whispered. It was one of the most important buildings in the American economy that had existed so many years ago. It was also the home of over four hundred billion dollars in gold bullion. He chuckled. "Let's see if any of it's still there…" he muttered.

 **Federal Reserve Building, New York. Piper and Miles. Morning.**

The silhouette of Piper began to materialize in the shadowy room. She looked back to Miles, her green eyes gleaming in the darkness, acting as a sort of flashlight. "So what's the scoop on this hunk a' junk?"

Miles looked at her almost scoldingly. "This 'hunk of junk' is the holder of more wealth than you could ever imagine!"

Piper laughed. "I don't know, I can imagine quite a bit."

Miles looked smug. "Can you imagine four hundred and fifteen billion dollars? In gold?"

Piper's eyes widened. "I can now…" She tapped on the walls. "So you're saying this place is basically made out of gold?"  
Miles shrugged. "Kinda. There's a vault containing seven thousand metric tons (or tonnes for you Brits) of gold bars, each worth about six hundred thousand dollars each."

Piper gawked. "Then let's just grab a few dozen and leave! That's a huge amount of cash!"

Miles held up a hand. "Unless you can carry a dozen gold bars twenty eight pounds (or thirteen kilograms) each, then you're out of luck." He looked over to the stairwell that led to the vault. "It was renovated to sustain a direct hit from a nuclear weapon in 2075. Lucky sonsabitches made this thing impregnable. Might have even taken shelter inside." He gestured over to the very same stairwell. "Let's take a look inside, shall we?"

Piper curtseyed daintily, quite unlike the Piper Miles knew. "But of course, dear sir!" she screeched, in the best English accent she could muster. Miles roared in laughter, and Piper joined with him.

 **12th Reserve Vault, New York. Piper and Miles. Noon.**

They ventured deep down into the Earth, the vault resting a hefty eighty feet (twenty four meters) below the street and fifty feet (fifteen meters) below sea level. Although this may seem like a minute amount, the eerie feeling that lingered in the air made the otherwise simple descent an uneasy and unwanted process. After what felt like many long minutes, although it was merely a few moments, they reached the huge vault door protector, which loomed at an impressive nine feet tall (two point seven meters), far above the heads of either Miles or Piper. This ninety ton steel cylinder was the only thing between them and the vault, and they were determined to get it open.

Piper turned to Miles quizzically. "So, uh… how do we get the overcompensating wall of steel in front of us to part for us?"

Miles shrugged. "If I can remember all those conversations I had with the bank managers back home about the biggest bank vaults they had ever seen… Ah! I'm not sure if the same rule applies here, as this thing is massive compared to the ones I saw, but they said most Reserve banks had four steel cylinders encased in a one hundred and forty ton steel and concrete frame. Pretty hefty shit. But the time locks deactivate during business hours, so all we should have to do is disengage these valves here…" He signalled to Piper, who grabbed the opposing valve, and it rumbled open as they turned with all their combined might, the veins popping in Miles's head and Piper looking like she was carrying a bag of concrete over her shoulders. The door slid open as the watertight seals released the door from the slumber it had been in for over two centuries. The wire gate door slammed open, and they walked into the huge chamber. The rows of gold gleamed throughout the corridors, and Piper's mind began to wander, wondering what she could buy with that kind of money. She could renovate Diamond City, buy a few hundred printers, and still have some caps to spare. Miles chuckled. "Open sesame."

Piper nodded. "How much should we grab?"

Miles shrugged. "I would take two, three if you can. But it would be pretty hard."

Piper began to laugh. She pointed to the cart sitting against the rows of gold, enough to cart out a dozen gold bars to the car. Miles began placing bars on the cart one by one, and Piper carted out the bars after he had finished. "Let's go already!" she yelled, her shout echoing off the walls of the vault.

Miles held up a hand. "Help me seal the vault again."

Piper looked dismayed. "Why? Why would we do that?"

Miles rolled his eyes. "If the world ever rebuilds, we can use this to prop up the economy."

Piper, always one to be a philanthropist, wholeheartedly agreed. "Alright. Let's seal 'er up!" The closing of the vault was incredibly easy compared to the opening, and as it slid and locked shut, they breathed happily. Putting the cart on the ramped side of the stairwell, they pushed it up and out of the facility and to the car. One by one, they rested the gold bullion in the back of the car, and even though it would seem like a hefty weight, it was actually well below the normal weight that a row of seats can carry. They gave each other a mock high five, and Piper launched the cart at full speed into the Reserve, the doors sliding open as the cart careened inwards. Piper laughed. "So, what's next?"

Miles smiled. "I've got a surprise for you. Come on, I'll take you to it."

Piper rubbed her hands in anticipation. "Well, what are we waiting for? Go!" The car sped off into the winding maze of streets that was New York City.

 **New York City. 620 Eighth Avenue, Piper and Miles. Afternoon.**

They stood outside the towering giant that hovered in front of their eyes. Piper was the first to break the silence. "What are we doing here, again? This surprise isn't very exciting."

Miles smiled. "It survived. All this time, it survived."

Piper groaned. "Not the name game. _What? What_ survived?"

Miles slowly walked up to the sign and beckoned Piper over. Imprinted were the words: _"All the News that's Fit to Print."_ Miles grinned. "Thought you might like this."

Piper squealed ecstatically. "Oh my god… an Old World newspaper!" She embraced Miles to the point where it cut off circulation in his torso. "I want to go in now!" Piper grasped onto Miles's hand and pulled him inside.

The site was something to behold. It was like Piper's dreams came true. Countless rows of printing presses, some still jutting their needles around erratically, as if the newest paper was moments away from the deadline. She closed her eyes and imagined all the news, all the _truth_ that this place had once spoken. It had all been silenced. She wished she could take all of these presses and bring them home. Nat wouldn't be complaining for a new printer, at least. She chuckled. Miles stared at her. "Well? What do you think?"

Piper grinned. "It's amazing. No other word to describe it." She saw a framed newspaper surrounded by a plexiglass box and walked over to it. The plaque read: _1851, First Edition, New York Times._ It discussed the new book from earlier that year named _Uncle Tom's Cabin,_ which was apparently a book that Miles seemed to be disgusted by, although Piper didn't really understand his reasoning. It also spoke of the revolution that had erupted earlier that year in China; a revolution that, unbeknownst to them, would claim the lives of over twenty million people. It also pointed out that Italian scientists had discovered the tenth largest asteroid ever. Things that were old even to Miles, the best-preserved two hundred year old she had ever met, were just hanging on this wall, a window to the past. Piper looked away from the deteriorated newspaper and to something clinging onto the printing press behind her. The date was faded, but it appeared to be the issue for the twenty-third of October, 2077. "The day the bombs fell." She called over to Miles. "Hey! Blue! Look at this piece!"

Miles stopped examining the erratic printing press and walked over. "Huh. Looks like the copies got flung around or incinerated. It's a miracle this one isn't destroyed, at least, not _fully_ destroyed." He picked up the paper and read the faded headline out loud. "Communists sympathizers arrested for protesting against the defunding of the food stamp program."

Piper blinked. "I don't think you got that right. Why would communists protest the defunding of food stamps? That's ridiculous."

Miles shrugged. "That sort of thing happened all the time back in the day. If you were against the government in a capacity where they were concerned, you would be called a communist and most likely be arrested for espionage, or, in the higher levels, treason. They were afraid."

Piper looked like someone had just punched her in the gut. "You're telling me that _innocent people_ got thrown away for simply wanting to be able to _eat_?! But wouldn't the newspapers expose that the government was doing these horrible things? Wouldn't they expose the truth?"

Miles almost laughed, but held it back. "Piper, in the Old World, a moral standard like yours was a diamond in the rough. Almost impossible to find. The newspapers were basically puppets of the government by the time I was born. Before the conflict with the Chinese, they tried their best to report the truth, but it was always clouded by misinterpretation. But when the newspapers realized they could be shut down by the government, there was not much they could do to argue against them. It would be the same. Some absurd piece of evidence would be planted, it would be found, it would be used to say they were a commie, and then poof! No more business, no more freedom. It was the way it worked."

Piper stared at him in disgust. "And you just let this happen?! Why didn't you intervene? Did you or did you not swear an oath to protect the American Commonwealth and its inhabitants? Didn't you think about how their lives would be _destroyed_?! Or are you just another one of those people that thinks 'oh, my life is more important than them.' Don't you realize what it means to protect your society?! It means that you protect those who cannot protect themselves. I would have thought your wife would have told you that."  
Miles snapped and started yelling. "You don't talk about my wife! Ever! She was the best thing I ever had! You think that I didn't care about those people? About their _lives?_ I did, Piper! But you know what? You're right. Why wouldn't a married army veteran who had a pregnant wife intervene and most likely get put in jail for the remainder of his life? How _selfish_ of me to think about my family before someone I have never met in my life. What was I _thinking_?"

Piper looked back at him, and began to seethe. "Miles. We're not talking about this if you are going to be a complete and utter asshole."

Miles, anger flaring around in the pit of his stomach, fought back the urge to get violent. "We're leaving. Get back in the car." The duo walked back to the Highwayman, their anger barely veiled by the false calm. When Miles had started the car, Piper was already sitting in the passenger seat, eyes out the window. Neither wished to be the one to break the silence, to say they were wrong. They were too damn stubborn to do anything of the sort. Five minutes, then ten, then fifteen passed without either of the characters speaking to each other. The ruined skyline passed them by, a sort of final farewell to their saviors. The city began to fade into the background, and Piper was alerted to the fact that they were leaving.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked, spite still stinging from her words.

He kept his eyes forward, as not to give away the uncertainty that might show on his face. "I'm leaving this forsaken place. You can come with me, or you can walk."

She glared at him. "Well, the least you could do is give me advance warning before we leave. I still wanted to see some of the landmarks."

Miles rolled his eyes, and turned to look at her. "Are you serious? The only thing you can think about at this moment is yourself? Don't be such a…"

Before he could respond, Piper's cry shot his eyes back to the road, but not fast enough to swerve out of the way of the radstag that had found its way to the middle of the unkempt road, eating dead grass out of the cracks. The creature's head poked upwards, but it was too late. The car impacted with the irradiated deer at almost full speed, its outline a blur as it flew over the hood of the car. Piper and Miles shot forward in their seats as the car screeched to a halt. The two got out of the car, still shellshocked from the events of moments before. Miles frantically looked Piper over. "Did you get hit by anything? Are you injured?"

Piper shook him off with aggravation. "I'm fine, Blue."

Miles began hyperventilating. "This is why I always ask you to wear ballistic weave…"

Piper groaned. "Fine! If you want me to wear it so badly I'll put some ballistic weave in my winter outfit so you won't fuss over me anymore. Can we just go see what the situation with the radstag is?"

Miles nodded. "Oh hell! The radstag!"

They ran back to where the radstag had been severely wounded. Piper was the first to react, breathing deeply. "Oh shit, oh shit… we just hit that thing. What the hell do we do?"

Miles, who was still dealing with the thought of just ramming what he called a 'poor little cuddle muffin,' didn't immediately respond. When he did, it was mostly through hyperventilation. "Oh God, no… no no no no no… It's alright, it's going to be fine… Let's just get it some bandages…"

Piper stared at him, and began to speak slowly. "Blue… we could put it out of its misery."

He stared at her. "I'm not going to shoot it! It looks too much like Dogmeat! It's so innocent, and fearful, and it's so filled with hope…"

Before he could continue, Piper whipped out Kellogg's pistol and put a bullet straight through its eyes, the final breath that escaped it sounding more like a silent message of thanks than a death cry. "It's alright. It's over now." Piper shut the creature's eyes and looked up at Miles, who was still breathing heavily.

"You… you killed it?" He seemed shocked. "But… why?"  
Piper stared at him. "Are you serious right now? Big bad army man is crying because we shoot a radstag? First off, it was dying anyway, second off, these damned things breed like rabbits. I'm trimming the population a bit. It only had itself to blame for running in front of a car."

Miles looked downcast, but he nodded. "Yeah… I guess… It was my fault for yelling at you and slamming into the thing, anyway."

Piper shook her head. "No… I shouldn't have started the argument in the first place. I was just hoping, just _praying_ that the main thing the Old World inspired me with would be true. I just wanted to be vindicated with my thoughts that the newspapers always told the truth, no matter how ugly it got. So many of the values I placed with them have been demolished. They were just another puppet to be danced around whenever the people in charge wanted." She kicked the ground in frustration. "I guess I'm just another sucker that got screwed over by my dreams, right?"

Miles shook his head. "No, Piper. The Old World might not have had that integrity, but what's stopping you from having it? You've been preaching the truth for as long as I've read your paper, and I was honestly impressed. You've surpassed your dreams, Piper. You're making sure the people know the truth even if you get threatened with harm; sometimes death. As you said when I first met you, I consider you _very_ successful."  
She began to tear up. "Lookit what you did, Blue. You're gonna make me cry. Is that really what you want?" She chuckled sadly. "Thank you, Miles. I really needed that." She held him in a loose embrace, resting her head on his shoulder, and began humming softly.  
He wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be ok, Piper. Everything's going to be fine. I promise." He knew that she was probably going to tease him later for this, but he began humming too. For a few moments, there was an aura of peace surrounding the two; a sense of quiet reflection on the past.

Then she began to lift her head and smile. "Let's keep going. We've got a long way to Mariposa."

Miles looked confused. "What about New York?"  
Piper laughed. "To hell with New York. It's old news anyway." The two chuckled as they walked back to the car. The doors slammed shut, and the engine sputtered back to life as they sped away farther down the highway.

- **Later** -

"Twenty bottles of Nuka on the wall, twenty bottles of Nuka, you take one down, pass it around, nineteen bottles of Nuka on the wall…" Piper's tired singing set the mood for the vehicle, and it wasn't exactly pleasant.

Miles groaned. "Will you stop? Five hundred bottles was a lot to start with, but I didn't expect you to do the entire song!"

Piper huffed. "Fine." She glanced out the window, then looked back at Miles. "Where are we going, anyways?"

Miles chuckled. "We're going to Denver. I told you that a hundred times."

Her eyes went wide. "Denver? Blue, we can't go to Denver."

Miles looked at her. "Why?"  
Piper looked terrified. "One of the huge factions in the Wasteland is Caesar's Legion, a copy of the Romans. They keep slaves, they rape, and they pillage. They tried to invade California earlier, but the Courier pushed them back. Denver is their second capital."

Miles looked annoyed. "Seriously? More assholes pretending to be the virtuous saviors of the Wastes? Fine. Screw them anyway." He pulled the car to a screeching halt, and opened up the glove compartment. A map spewed out into the car, blinding their view. "God dammit! They still make maps that are too big to fit? Where is the piece of…" He grabbed the end of the map. "Alright. There we go." He pinned down the map and looked for the secondary destination that he had planned as a fallback. "We can go across to the old Vegas area. If you want, we could stop in Chicago on the way down. Beautiful city, really."

Piper looked intrigued. "Heard of it. Is it really anything worth looking at?"

Miles nodded. "They've got a great art museum, housed some of the most famous paintings in the American Commonwealth, and some really famous paintings from the Old World. Lotsa things people might want to read about, culture and all that."

Piper suddenly became very enthusiastic. "I could do a section where I talk about the art and culture of the Old World!" She turned to Miles. "That's a great idea, Blue!"

Miles smiled sheepishly. "It was nothing, really…"

Piper looked even more urgent. "Anything else?"  
Miles's eyes went bright. "There's an old baseball stadium, similar to Diamond City, but not as grandiose and famous as your beloved home. Still, they housed the Cubs, who still didn't come out of their World Series win slump by 2077. How in the hell did they go 168 years without a Series win is beyond me."

Piper looked even more curious. "They've got the same sort of thing that Diamond City is? That's awesome! Why didn't New York have any of these?"

Miles was silent for a minute. "Well, they did, but you said we should go, and now we're really far away."

Piper glared. " _How_ far away?"

Miles looked away. "We're in Ohio."

Piper looked indifferent. "What's an 'Ohio?' Some kind of candy bar?"

Miles shook his head. "Ohio is… was a state. It's two states down from New York, if you include it. We're about two-thirds of the way to Indiana."

Piper looked grumpy. "I wish you would tell me these things _before_ we leave the area. We might have had a reason to stay." She turned to the road again. "Oh well. Anything going on while I was asleep?"

Miles shook his head. "No, not really. Mostly just lots of farmland or small towns. We took lots of back roads. Thought if you woke up you'd at least have the scenic route to enjoy. Considerate little me, right?"

Piper chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. You're a great friend, etc, etc. How far away are we to Chicago?"  
Miles smirked. "About an hour. I would just do anything to kill the time."

Piper grinned. "How about another song?" As Piper picked up her chorus once again, Miles groaned in defeat.

 **Day 14, Chicago. Lake Michigan, Piper and Miles.**

Piper exhaled slowly. The weather felt almost sub-zero, but Miles had insisted they stop at the bridge to the city to see a 'great lake.' She didn't know what a lake was, or what was so great about it, but hell she aimed to find out. She wasn't disappointed. The frozen top of the massive waterway stretched as far as the eye could see, spanning multiple miles, if not many, many more. It was refreshing, almost like a cold gust of wind on a summer's day, seeing that even though nature produces horrors like Lakelurks, it still makes these wondrous majesties for the world to behold. She sucked in a large breath of the brisk Chicago air. The wind blew hard against her face, and all she could think about was one thing: Miles. Ever since the disappearance of Pipe, she had been re-evaluating literally everything. The issue was that she had avoided the main thing that she should have been focusing on until now, and like the topic she just said, it was Miles. She didn't know why, but she just needed to re-access it now that it was in front of her. She needed to get one thing straight: She had feelings for him. Pipe had shown that, she had shown that, and hell, Miles even said he did too. She sometimes felt _jealousy_ when Miles mentioned his long gone wife, and the argument they had earlier was no different. So why the hell was she having such a hard time telling him how she felt? It was like she was trying to fight something in her head which wanted to hold her back, to wait for the right time to make sure her heart wouldn't be broken. She thought back to when Miles had shown her their stops. Waitaminute… that sonofabitch pointed to New Vegas! The center of vice, greed, and lust, under new management. Pipe would have loved it. Maybe that's where they'll hold the wake. She chuckled at the image. She thought back to her previous reasoning. She bounced the idea back and forth in her head, and finally she looked skywards with reinforced zeal. She would tell him that she loved him in New Vegas. It was then or never, and she didn't want to die alone. She took a deep breath and cleared her head once again. Her thoughts became background noise to the beautiful images of the frozen lake shining in front of her eyes. She smiled contently and zoned back out into the void.

Miles stood a few inches away from Piper, but was no less uneasy. He too had began questioning almost everything about their relationship. The minute their argument had escalated, he knew he had fucked up. He shouldn't have mentioned Nora, that much is true, and he shouldn't have been the world's biggest asshole in the process. He sighed. He knew that some of the blame was meant for Piper, but he couldn't help but take it all. It was like he didn't want her to have any reason to ever even consider him a bad person. Even though he had only been out of that pod for about two years, he had still spent some of the most memorable times in all of his years on this Earth in the Wasteland, and, more importantly, with Piper. He didn't realize it when they had both met for the first time, her mischevious grin and the determination pulsating in her eyes calling him ever closer, but they would become almost instant friends in the days that followed. Over that time, over those long two years, their relationship escalated faster than the elevator in the World Trade Center. It roared to new heights that he hadn't felt since he first met an intern in a law office who would change his life forever. He sighed. He knew that his temper could be the end of everything that he cared about. He wanted to tell her how he felt, but rejection… it was the biggest fear any person could ever conceive of. But he had waited far too long to tell Piper his true feelings. He decided that he must do it soon or fear being lost forever in a void of loneliness. He thought back to where he proposed to Nora those many years ago. Las Vegas, home of sin. He smiled reminiscently, remembering how much she had hugged him after he pulled out the same ring that hung around his neck, its twin slid snugly on his finger. They stayed there now, not wanting to forget what had happened in the best moments of his life. He snapped back to the issue at hand. Now was the time to act. He would tell Piper of his true feelings in the one place that he felt it was right. _Las Vegas._ The thought came at the same time as Piper's, and the idea was set into their brains, not willing to question if it could fail, not wanting to confront that dreaded idea. They knew what they must do, and nothing, not man nor machine, would stand in the way of the happy ending that they desired. Happy endings, however, only exist in the eyes of the beholder, and the price for their happiness may be the lives of millions. However, the clouded Chicago sky billowing snowflakes down over the landscape of Lake Michigan distracted them from their frets and worries, and they were just thankful that they lived another day.

 **That's Chapter 9, wrapped tightly in the story and sealed with love. You guys are the absolute best; keep on reviewing and suggesting ideas! It feeds my soul, you know. Again, making these shorter, so thank you guys so much for being so kind and encouraging me to write more and more! The next chapters might take a little while due to recuperation, but the worst parts are weathered. See you next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, guys! I'm back! I can't believe it is Chapter 10! I'm so thankful for you guys making me push onwards. I'm healing well, thanks for asking, and I'm also excited to release this chapter to you guys! We have reviews! Dieselface: It's good to see you back in the chat, buddy! I don't think your link worked, sorry bout that. On a different note, your assumption is correct! The Enclave may or may not be in this chapter (ok, they will. I'm a stickler for lore). HoneyClaw: You are too good to me! Thank you so much for your continued kindness, and I'm healing nicely, thanks. That's all the reviews for now, so without any further ado, here is Chapter 10!**

 **Day 14, Chicago. Piper and Miles. Dawn.**

They had slept in the car the night before, as their fear of the unknown and most likely hostile Chicago landscape was overwhelming, and as Piper put it, "Creepy-crawlies always come out at night." When Miles woke up, he saw that Piper had already stolen his battlecoat for use as a blanket. He huffed very much like a child. "Piper! That's MY jacket! If anything, I should get to use it as a blanket. I'm freezing over here!"

Piper rubbed her eyes wearily, slowly lifting her head skyward. "What time is it?" she grumbled. The early light of dawn shone down on top of them both. Piper threw the jacket off of her body and at Miles, the thick coat covering his head with a satisfying _'thuwmp.'_ The early light of dawn shone down on top of them both. Piper slowly lifted the jacket off of her body and flung the door open. "Fine. Let's go before I change my mind."

Miles shivered. "Where in hell are you going?" he yelled. He rolled his eyes. "And a good morning to you…" he muttered, sarcastically. He snatched up his coat and threw it over his shoulders, the heavy fur resting over his body, and warmth washed over him. He turned to see Piper staring out at the lake, the gleaming rays of sunlight reflecting off of the gargantuan frozen waterway creating a magical feeling around it. Miles placed a hand on her arm. "Come on. I'll drive us into the city." Piper slowly nodded in agreement, and hopped in the Highwayman as Miles revved the engine. The entrance to the city seemed to be blocked off by some sort of concrete barricade. Miles cocked his head. "What in God's name is that doing there…?" he mumbled.

Piper looked uneasy. "Blue, I've got a bad feeling about this… Maybe we shouldn't go in."

Miles nodded. "I feel it too, Piper." He forced a comforting expression on his face. "But this is the only way through, unless you wanna drive back a few hundred miles to get back on a different road that leads to both Dallas and Vegas."

Piper snorted. "Well shit Blue, you don't leave much of a choice, do you?" She stared forward into the abyss that was the destroyed city. Chicago and its destruction made New York look like a regular day in the neighborhood. The nukes had devastated the city to an almost unrecognizable pulp. Sinkholes had erupted across the area, generations of unstable ground collapsing all at once. The ensuing chaos had left over a million people dead, and those that were unlucky enough to survive either fled to the local Vault before the main nukes hit the city, tried to escape and then burn to death in nuclear fire, or committed suicide to avoid the horrors of the Wasteland.

Miles shrugged. "I try, Piper. I try." The car sped forward until the true size of the barrier was revealed. It was at least eight feet (two point four meters) tall, with a truck-sized hole cut in the entrance. The car slowly inched through the checkpoint until two shots rang out. Miles felt the air rush from the front tires like bats out of hell as he jumped ship as fast as his body could dive. Piper followed suit, using a power armor glove that Miles had made for her to carry a strong lockbox, marked with the words 'Property of the 12th Reserve' slammed on it. Miles whipped out his pistol and turned to see an older man, early to mid sixties, holding a smoking pistol.

"You suhrs ah tresspassin' on U.S. Govahnment land. Leave now." The man spoke with a recognizable strong Southern drawl, but his voice was commanding nonetheless.

Miles was furious. "What in the… What the fuck, man?! You shot out my tires!"

The man looked back at him and shrugged. "Casualties of war."

Miles looked incredulous. "What the hell? War?! Are you serious? There hasn't been a war in… in centuries!" He began to march toward the man.

Red dots materialized on both his chest and Pipers. He stopped cold and raised his arms slowly, signaling for Piper to do the same. As he raised his arms, the unit and ranks patches on his sleeves plus the commendations and battle patches that had been sewn into his battle coat materialized into view, and perhaps most importantly the American Commonwealth flag on his shoulder pads. The older man began to speak but seemed to notice the paraphernalia on Miles's jacket and grew more interrogative. "Where did you get that?!" he ordered.

Miles scoffed. "I'm not telling you shit!" The red dots on Piper's chest evaporated, reappearing on Miles's chest moments later. Miles looked like he had contracted a severe case of rigor mortis, his eyes wide as plates and his body stiff as a board. "I see… I see you can be very persuasive," he sputtered.

The older man waved his gun in the air. "How did you get that uniform?!" he demanded, his voice refusing to waver.

Miles breathed heavily. "It was given to me."

The man glared at him. " _Who_ gave it tah yuh?"

Miles sighed. "General Constantine Chase"

The man started to chuckle, then laugh uncontrollably. "General Chase? Of the goddamn _Anchorage Reclamation?!_ Yuh're saying… you ah sayin' you fought in Anchorage… two hundred yeahs ago?"

Miles nodded. "First Lieutenant, 5th Recon Battalion, Special Forces. Got the coat because of my First Lieutenant status."

The man pursed his lips and nodded slowly. "Ah likely story. Tell me, then, who was yeh theater commandah?"

Miles stood at attention. "General Constantine Chase."  
He nodded. "Division Chief?"

Miles replied back. "Colonel Michael DeLoria."

"Regiment Commandah?"

"Captain Richard Siemens."

"Company Head?"

Miles grinned when he remembered his old friend from a time long past. "Major Byron 'One-Eye' Eden."

"Squad Leadah?"

Miles chuckled. "First Lieutenant Miles Cornelius Mackenzie."

Piper burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry… your middle name is _Cornelius?_ By the Dweller… I need air… breath…"

Miles rolled his eyes. "Laugh it up. You've done worse."

The man ignored her. He raised his hand and the red lights clicked off. "As ah live and breathe… You, suhr, ah either the best liah in the Wastes or the most well preserved two hundred yeah old ah have evah met." He walked up to Miles, strutting in his march. "Ah've never met a real live pre-war American hero in the fight against China. It is mah greatest honah tah welcome you tah the Enclave." Floodlights clicked on and ten men appeared, suddenly visible, on the rooftops beside them, holding sniper rifles. 'Mah name is Augustus Autumn. _President_ Augustus Autumn." He shook Miles's hand vigorously. "Apologies for the car. We'll fix that up. But first, let me give you the touah…" The three of them walked away, Autumn chatting away, Miles paying close attention, and Piper furiously copying down everything he said.

 **Vault 42, Chicago. Piper and Miles. Midday.**

The trio walked together like old friends meeting on the street; new stories being told as they caught up with each other's lives. Finally, Autumn asked Miles the question he knew he would ask. "Pahdon me foh wonderin' but how exactly did you suhvive two hundred yeahs without bein' ghoulified or somethin' of the sort?"

Miles sighed. "I was cryogenically frozen in a local Vault and I woke up two hundred and sixty years later."

Autumn had to catch his breath in awe. "If we could use that we could preserve ouah citizens with disease until we develop cures!" He turned to Miles. "Where is it?"

Miles smiled, happy that those damned pods could finally be used for some sort of good. "Vault 111. Boston."

A determined gleam shone in Autumn's eyes. "Then ah will send men tah Bohston!" he cried. He rapidly becomes extremely docile. "The Vault is just ahead. Ah wil buzz us in."

They neared a huge structure that Miles immediately recognized. "The Roebuck Tower!" he whispered. "Where's the Vault?" he thought out loud.

Autumn grinned. "You ah standing on it, big guy!" He abruptly took out a keyring and pressed the only button on it. A huge rumbling sound emitted throughout the area as the land in front of them slid away into the unknown, revealing a giant tunnel. "Tah-da!" he chuckled. Both Piper and Miles stood with their mouths agape as they descended into the hungry maw of the cavernous passageway. Not far from their field of vision lay an enormous metal hatch, sealed shut, marked with a hastily painted Enclave insignia on the front door. "We're gonna get that redone someday…" Autumn muttered. He walked ahead of the group and slammed the button on the door control. Nothing. He growled and began to pound on the hatch. "Scotty! Open this doah, or ah sweah on the Constitution that ah will break it down!"

A young voice, probably mid twenties, resounded over the intercom that had suddenly come to life. "S-sir! You're back!" The young man cleared his throat, which made ear-splitting feedback resound throughout the cavern. "I… I need the password, Mr. President."

Autumn became increasingly impatient. "It's me, Scotty. Open the doah. Now."

The voice over the intercom stuttered with fear. "Your orders were to deny entry to everyone, no matter what rank, until they gave the password."

Autumn sighed. "Ah'm too old foh this shit…" He turned back to the door. "Remember Navarro." It seemed that he had developed an ability to say the password without his accent present, and when the voice over the intercom responded, it seemed pleased.

The voice exhaled in relief. "Welcome back to the base, Mr. President sir. Door is opening now."

As the hatch opened, Autumn turned back to the duo. "These ah ouah main headquarters throughout the Wastes." The trio entered the door to see a bustling Vault, filled with soldiers, scientists, and families clad in tight blue jumpsuits.

Piper was the first to speak, recovering from her astonishment. "How did you find this place?"

Autumn turned to her, his chest welling up with pride. "We arrived about a decade ago while we were fleeing the destruction of Raven Rock, the place where that Eden bastahd tried tah annihilate the Capital Wastes with his crazed FEV plan. When the Wanderer refused his plan and made his programming run a paradoxical scenario, it triggahed his self-destruct and the self-destruct of the base. That's when we remembered ouah Chicago base, and ah took power as the interim president and gave the ordah tah evacuate all troops loyal tah the Enclave and mah government tah this very base. Aftah ouah arrival, ah was sworn in as the official president due tah the lack of a Congress. Unfortunately, they refused tah leave, proclaiming loyalty tah Eden, and were incinerated when the base exploded. Since that point, ouah base here has grown tah control the city, and Chicago is the current home of the remnants of these United States and its capital, until we get Washington back, of couhse." He looked back to Piper, who, even though she was still writing, looked confused. Autumn realized he had gotten off topic. "Ah am so sorry, ah just went completely off the subject, didn't I?"

Piper smiled. "It's alright. I very much enjoy hearing the extra information. I'm a journalist, you see."

Autumn looked suspicious. "Ah you trying tah get information out of me tah publish for mah enemies? Is that it? Ah respect yeh career path, but ah don't often trust outsidahs with sensitive infamation."

Piper shook her head. "No, actually. As Miles and I travel around, I document our journey. I'm compiling my findings across the Wasteland into my biggest article yet, but it might be inappropriate to call it that, as it's not remotely small enough to classify as an article."

Autumn clapped. "Well hot damn! Ah nevah thought that the outside could begin tah develop without Enclave help. Of couhse ah will continue." He had a look of pride on his face as he looked at Piper, like the pride a father would have toward a child who had done something very impressive and admirable. He cleared his throat. "Well, back on topic. We stumbled across the Vault when we arrived, and aftah meetin' the residents, we found they were patriots as well, their society based in American values. They were moah than happy tah house us and let us use it as ouah seat of government. They ah the first generation of new American citizens."

Piper looked fascinated. "That's amazing…" She jotted down notes furiously, her pencil seeming to never wear itself down.

They neared the end of the hall when the trio stopped at a door labeled "Presidential Office." Autumn beckoned them inside, and when the two of them entered the room they were awestruck by its beauty. The office was obviously the Overseers, but the Enclave had converted it for use by the president. There were reinforced walls, flags, portraits, artifacts, and maps displaying a large host of areas and sections around the Vault, in the Chicago area, and in other bases. There was also a red phone on his desk that he would later explain to be the direct line to both the other leaders of the Enclave and to other bases around the wasteland. Autumn walked over to his C-shaped desk and pulled out Miles's battle coat, which had been taken when he entered the Vault. It had some notable changes to it, and he handed the jacket to Miles. He looked at the uniform with great interest. He smiled kindly when he saw the additions Autumn had placed. "Thank you, Mr. President."

Autumn had given Miles the honorary rank of Chief Warrant Officer, rank V "for his service against China and in Multiple Offensives on the Behalf of the United States Military." The brand new patch, which was white with a single thick black line down the middle of it, adorned both shoulders of his coat. On his collar there sat a brand new, shining, golden letter E surrounded by thirteen stars, the emblem of the Enclave. It sat across from a worn and partially rusted golden honorific that was bestowed on all Army ranks (don't quote me on that) on their dress uniforms, the letters U.S. emblazoned on their collars. His, as previously mentioned, had grown weary and had long since lost its golden sheen, but for Miles it always brought back memories of days long past. The rank Autumn had given him was a moderately high rank, the highest level of a Chief Warrant Officer, and it sat directly above Captain in levels of seniority. Miles immediately outranked a number of the soldiers residing in the bunker.

Autumn smiled. "Ah know Chief Warrant Officer is a hefty rank, but yoh've got experience in the military that nobody has seen foh as long as you've been frozen in those podular contraptions." He sat down in the chair beneath both a portrait of him and the flags of the Enclave and the American Commonwealth. "We're short on qualified officers anyhow." he chuckled. He took a swig of a flask, the smell of strong whiskey drafting from the room.

Piper, however, hadn't been listening as intently as she usually did. She was mesmerized by what she saw outside the window high above the rotunda. Countless soldiers rushed past, encircled by the residents of the Vault who continued their daily lives as if this was business as usual. Scientists jogged from room to room, their clipboards strained by the pounds of paper that were wadded into the metallic clips that kept them from spewing out into the passage. It felt so abnormal to Piper that these people survived down here without a single contact - besides the Enclave, of course - that supplied them with resources or traded with them. She turned to Autumn, who had perched himself quite lazily, his combat boots resting on the Ottoman placed under his desk. She opened her mouth as if to break the silence, but all that came out was a frenzied fit of coughs, much to the surprise of Miles and Autumn, who dropped his flask.

Miles rushed over to where she stood, her hand grasping the railing attached the windowsill with ungodly force. He patted her back as a mother would do an infant, and her coughs eventually became less hoarse and less time passed before they had subsided completely. "Are you alright?" he questioned, the recent events alarming his senses to a breaking point.

Piper nodded, clearing her throat once again. "I'm ok, Blue. Thanks." She smiled weakly and turned to Autumn, who looked more confused than worried.

"Ah you ok? What in Washington's name happened?"

Piper frowned, not in anger, but in self-loathing for derailing the conversation once again. "Cough. The air musta done it."

Autumn nodded. "Ah will get maintenance tah see if thehre's an issue. In the meantime, what were you gonna say?"  
Piper glanced at Miles and then back at Autumn. "I wanted to ask if there was a possibility that we could discuss your long-term plans for the Enclave."

Autumn smiled broadly. "Foh youh article, ah assume?" Piper nodded. "Alrightah then! Ah would be greatly humbled tah share mah plans foh the future. Just censor some of the infamation, if you would. Those metal brained wannabes in the Brothahood of Steel would bring theih fuckin' death robots - still properteh of the U.S. militarah - and kill everyone heah." He made some fluctuating gestures - signifying an explosion - and snorted.

Piper smirked, but Miles looked nervous. "You… you don't like the Brotherhood?"

Autumn let out a hearty laugh. "Like them? Boy, theah ain't nobodeh who hates the Brothahood moah then the Enclave. About a decade ago - has it been that long alreadah? - Ah was second in command at the Washington base, Raven Rock. Mah onlah superiah was the president himself, John Henry Eden. Ah still remembah ouah downfall like it was yestahday. It was at that godfohsaken puhrifieh, When that stubborn scientist - James, ah think it was - refused tah recognize the good we would do with that sort of power. We could reestablish an economah, something that would reunite the Capital into a societah with a true common currency and an export that could ground ouah new America as a real fohce in the Wastes. But then, then the crazy sonofabitch tired to kill me by floodin' the place with radiation. Woulda succeeded, too, had ah not had mah special Rad-Away to keep me alive." His hand shook as he puffed on a cigar, the long suppressed memories of his most severe failure back to haunt him once again. "What ah didn't know - what ah didn't account foh, moah likelah, - was the fact that he had a daughtah."

Piper gasped. "You mean… the Lone Wanderer?"

Autumn grimaced. "The one and onleh. Aftah that, they escaped tah the Pentagon, which those Brothahood bastahds took over and established it as their head quartahs, callin' it the 'Citadel.' All ah can say about that is they illegalah occupiahed territorah belongin' tah the govahnment of the United States - or the American Commonwealth. People use both. -" he shrugged. "Anyway, once they escaped to the Pentagon, the Brothahood trained her, and she became a Knight servin' under Sarah Lyons. Theah were confirmed repohts from spies we had in their ranks that not long aftah her promotion, Lyons and her began a relationship of sexual natuah. Ah'm fine with that, of couhse. The reason ouah great nation existed was to escape pehsecution, and as the next genahration of Americans are developing in this bunkah we uphold that everyone is equal, no mattah theih race, religion, or sexual orientation. But the reason it was such an impohtant piece of intelligence was that it meant her loyalty to the Brothahood was cemented. Very few things can break that bond, very few things can make you betray the people you love."

He softly puffed on his cigar, his brows furrowing as he struggled to dig up his memories. "That intelligence made us scrap ouah plan tah bring the Wandahrer to ouah side, and foh a while the intel well went dry. Howevah two months lateh we got news that she was bein' sent tah Vault 87 tah retrieve the G.E.C.K. housed theah. We let her get the device but on her way out we rendahed her unconscious and took her tah Raven Rock. Ah interrogated her foh a while, but not long after that President Eden called her up foh a chat." His features turned grim. "Ah had been monitorin' his memory banks for yeahs - national security purposes, yuh see, - and when I saw the F.E.V. toxin plan pop up ah took action. Ah wouldn't let almost everybodeh in the Capital Wasteland die!"

Piper looked confused. "How would F.E.V. kill them? It would mutate them, maybe, but kill them? That's absurd."

Autumn shook his head. "It ain't the F.E.V. yoh ah thinkin' of. Fuckah modified it, made it lethal tah any organisms that weren't 'pure.' Basically, the onlah people that would suhvive the genocide would be Vault Dwellers. The Enclave troops would also suhvive because they wouldn't be given the wahtah." He huffed on his cigar again. "Ah was afraid the Wandahrer would accept his offah and poison the wahtah, so ah took all mah troops and infohmed them of Eden's plan and how we could stop it. Yuh see, I thought the Wandahrer was weak, easily manipulated, and even amoral. Thankfullah, ah was wrong. She rejected his plan, set him tah self-destruct and ran like hell. Most of ouah troops escaped tah Chicago, but ah took a contingent of mah best troops for a last stand in defense of the puhrifiah. Those motherless Brothahood dogs brought everahthin' they had against us, includin' that robot. Damned thing was throwing _actual nucleah footballs._ Nobody had the guts tah tell 'em that that ain't what a nuclear football even is. Used it tah tear down our fohce field wall, and then they pouhed in like moths tah a flame. Our defense failed, lost most of mah men, but an amazin' thing happened. She let me live. She cornered me in the puhrifiah control room and she let me live. She had me, the man who caused her fathah's death, at gunpoint, and what does she do? She lets me live." He puffed on his cigar once more, his mind wandering. "Tah this day, ah can't figuah out why she spahed me. All ah know is that ah owe her mah life. Ironic, huh?" He glanced back at the two of them, the look of anticipation apparent on their faces. "Mah spies say she sacrificed herself tah activate the puhrifiah, died tah give the Capital clean wahtah. But latah repohts say she suhvived the radiation, pulled through, and led attacks on the remainin' Enclave bases in the Capital, includin' the attack on Adams Air Fohce base and the destruction of our base crawlah and in turn the Bradley-Hercules ohbital strike array." He frowned, remembering the final nail in the coffin of the Capital Enclave. "At least we blew up that death machine. Libertah Prime belongs tah the United States oh it belongs tah no man!" he chuckled. "Aw shit, did ah go on a tangent again? Come on you two! Ah'm old! Keep me focused!" he laughed.

Piper shook her head, chuckling. "No, this is great! I love hearing first-hand eyewitness accounts. Solidifies the information, keeps the reader interested, and helps me along. But no, you're right. What _are_ your long term plans for the Enclave?"

Autumn grinned. "Respectful towahd your elders! Ah like that. Yoh've got some pretty admirahble traits, y'know that?" He coughed. "Very American…" his voice trailed off. "Mah plans! Right, right! Ah'm reminiscing about times that ah never even experienced. Weihd, ain't it?" He puffed on his cigar again, the once thick roll of tobacco worn down to a stub. "Ouah situation seemed hopeless by the time we got heah, y'see. Most people thought we were goin' heah tah die, that we weah just gonna slowlah fade away, and ah'm ashamed tah admit that foh a time ah was among that group. But then… then ahn honest tah God miracle occuhed. This heah Vault still had its G.E.C.K., y'see. Ouah scientists immediately got tah work analyzin' the contraption, an' we hope tah one day figuah out how tah build them _en masse_ an' revitalize Chicago and othah areas that the Enclave occupy. We'll make the U.S. of A habitable again, establish a societah. That's ouah last plan, and if it goes well it'll be the onlah one we'll evah need."

Piper finished writing and grinned in satisfaction. "Wonderful! Now, can I just ask you a few more broad questions…?"

As Piper began her _real_ interview, Miles was somewhere else entirely, the voices of Piper and Autumn nothing more than white noise as background music to his absence. He was thinking yet again. This time, however, he was thinking of the purest, most loving place in America: Las Vegas. But I think we know what he was really thinking about, don't we, reader? That's right. He was thinking about Nora. More specifically, for those who just opened the internet, typed in a random URL, and have no idea what I'm talking about, he was thinking about their relationship. He sighed, thinking back to when they had first met. She was 18, working at a local law office as an intern, getting credits for law school, and he was 20, a doe-eyed second year attendee of West Point Military Academy who had come back home to attend his uncle's funeral and turn in some inheritance documents. They chatted for a while and eventually traded numbers, saying they could meet up in he was ever in town. A few months later, they went on their first date. It was a resounding success, and many more followed, their relationship growing. However, their happiness was not meant to last. The United States and China were on the warpath, and in 2066 the hounds of war came barking on their front step. Miles, now a graduate given the ranking of second lieutenant, was due to be shipped out. In fear of losing each other, Miles and Nora were married not long before his theater shipped out. They were 22 and 20, respectively. They frequently corresponded through letters and sometimes phone calls, but their separation was short lived. One year later, Miles, now at first lieutenant, took his squad on a routine patrol through the oil fields. Unbeknownst to them, a Chinese squad was lurking, and Miles and his squad were ambushed. Even though they fought tooth and nail and eventually repelled the ambush, when the dust cleared five American soldiers lay dead, while ten Chinese bodies littered the ground. Almost no man got off without a scratch, and Miles picked the short straw of fate. His eye was given a deep gash by the Chinese commander, whom lay dead at his feet, leaving a pretty awesome scar but more importantly partially robbing him of the vision in said eye. He was given the Purple Heart, airlifted home, and reunited with his wife. Nora and Miles lived happily together for almost a decade until early March of 2076, when Nora found out she was pregnant. Nine months later, Shaun Davidson Mackenzie was born, and almost twelve months later, on October 23rd, 2077, the world ended. Miles roughly grinded his teeth in upent fury. He needed her now more than ever. Right about then, a familiar voice, conjured by his imagination, rung in his head. "Hey! Jackass! I'm still around. Remember me? The beautiful gal you're head over heels in love with."

Miles chuckled to himself. He talked back to himself and he did _not_ look like a lunatic. "Maybe. Maybe you're right."

The voice snorted. "You can bet I'm right! Now c'mon, Blue. Go dazzle the real deal with your kindness."

Miles was released from the thoughts, which had encapsulated him at around the same time Piper concluded her interview. Autumn cleared his throat, flicking the cigar stub into the bin next to him. "Now ah know yuh fahne patriots ah heah foh somethin' othah than mah convohsation, so speak up. What is it?"

Piper piped up, ecstatic as usual. "We're in Chicago to go investigate the Art Institute here. We would appreciate your help."

Autumn nodded slowly, his lips turning downward into a frown. "While that certainlah sounds noble of yuh, lil' lady, ah'm naht shue that would be beneficial to ouah cause, y'see…"

Miles cut in. "Sorry to interrupt, Mr. President, but the Art Institute actually holds some very valuable and famous works by some of America's most brilliant artists, like Norman Rockwell, Frank Lloyd Wright, Edward Hopper, Grant Wood, Mary Cassatt, and some incredibly famous works from artists around the world, like Rembrandt, Monet, Van Gogh, and even Matisse!"

Autumn looked intrigued. "Yuh're sayin' that naht onlah is thah culturalah significant aht by great Americans in theah, but some works from Rambrondt, Manat, an' Von Go, whoevah the hell they ah? Well, that could boost morale aroun' the base… A'right, yah leetle devils gaht me. Let's go tah the Aht Instatoot!" He looked around the room. "Why is nobodah goin' yet?"

Miles laughed sheepishly. "We don't really know where it is…"

Autumn flashed a knowing smile. "Way ahead of yah." He pulled the intercom to his mouth. "Scotty! Get ah vertibird readah outside."

The voice responded promptly. "Yes sir. Vertibird en route to Landing Bay One."

Autumn smiled. "Good." He turned to the two of them. "Let's go pull off ahn aht heist!"

 **The Chicago Art Institute sponsored this chapter! Just kidding (bad joke is bad). Sorry that this chapter was mostly stuff you've already heard, but action is coming in next time. Review, it feeds my soul. Love you guys! -Valkyrie**

 ***UPDATE: Chapter One got re-uploaded when I realized the sheer amount of grammatical, spelling, and spacing mistakes I made. Word apparently doesn't account for some of the times when I separate the speaker from a different speaker, so I will probably re-upload a few. Just a little note to stave off confusion. Thanks! -Valkyrie***


	11. Chapter 11

**Can I just say how much I love you guys? Almost 10,000 views! That's a lot for a little writer like me. Thank you guys so much.** __ _ ****BIG NEWS** On my profile, there is a special poll relating to TTP. If you have the time, check it out. It changes the story entirely**_ _ **.**_ **On to reviews! Venomous - Thank you! I like to break the fourth wall so that I can have a sort of conversation with my reader. It's actually quite nice, and it can establish a premise. JohnRyan - I have to agree. I really loved the Enclave in the series ever since Interplay made that first game. I've always wanted to be able to have a canon ending where you side with them. Eugenio: And I love you guys! Well, that's enough rambling for moi. On to Chapter 11!**

 **Day 14, Chicago Institute of Art. Afternoon. Piper, Miles, and Autumn.**

The hum of the vertibird slowly died as the massive building came into view. There were still banners draped from the roof onto the columns, their fabric torn, flapping in the wind. There was a gaping hole in one of the sections of the roof, sunlight spilling in. They exhaled softly. Miles was the first one to speak. "Wow… it's bigger than I remember." The engine sputtered down as the vehicle hit the ground, its protruded wheels buckling under the weight.

Autumn was the first one to get out, and as he hit the ground he extended his hand toward Piper. She laughed. "I guess chivalry isn't dead." She took his hand and daintily hopped out of the cabin area, followed by Miles and two Enclave soldiers in power armor. Piper looked them over. "Not to be rude, but what are they doing here?"

One of the soldiers responded. "We're here to assist in the reclamation of pieces of artwork that survived the Chinese attack on our nation, ma'am. We're at your service."

Piper nodded, a smirk on her face. "Not bad. What are your names?"

The other soldier piped in. "I'm Abraham. He's Abaddon. We're brothers, y'see."

Piper smiled. "Alright. You're Abe, and he's Abba. Got it." Although Piper couldn't tell for sure, she could have sworn Abaddon was smiling under his helmet.

Autumn spoke up. "These two ah twins, vereh good soljahs. Some of mah best, in fact. Vereh good people, too." He turned to Miles and Piper. "So, what ah we lookin' foh?"

Miles bit his lower lip. "They had some really famous ones, right?" His eyes light up. "Oh yeah! Almost forgot. They had that dot painting of the people by the lake, by that Seurat person. They also had that one with the girl and guy with a pitchfork in front of the house. _American Gothic_ , I think it was. They had Van Gogh's self portrait, they had a few Picassos, they had that Cassatt one with the boy taking a bath, and they had that Hopper one with the cafe, _Nighthawks._ " It became clear to Miles that he was the only one who had any idea of what he was talking about. He sighed. "If it's not destroyed, grab it, no matter what it is, ok? They're all relics of the Old World. Just don't destroy anything, please."

They nodded. Abraham shot up. "We'll be extra careful, sir!"

Miles smiled. "Good. Now, whatever you do, if a room looks unstable, don't go in."

Autumn nodded. "A'right, we get it. Let's go, men. Scouah everah room, take everah artefact, everah piece of aht. Like the man said, be vereh delicate." The soldiers saluted and entered the building first, Miles, Piper, and Autumn following behind. They entered into a room filled with… Nothing?

Piper looked around. "Well. This was fucking useless. Where are the paintings? The artefacts?"

Miles looked like he'd just been smacked in the face. "I don't know." He looked down to see a frame lying facedown, burnt beyond recognition. He knew what he had feared the most had come true. "No… no no no no… They're all gone! Everything! Everything's gone!"

Piper looked shaken up. "What do you mean everything's gone?! All of the art? Pottery? Anything?!"

Miles shook his head in disbelief. "It's all destroyed… Looted, burnt smashed to bits, torn…" He punched the wall in rage, not caring that his knuckles emitted a deafening crack. "It's all gone!"

Just then, they heard a huge rumble, and then a sound that was similar to a collapse of Jenga blocks, if Jenga blocks were the size of your house and weighed hundreds of tons. They heard a scream, and rushed over to find Abaddon struggling to pull Abraham up from the flooring that had collapsed beneath his feet. Abraham struggled to pull himself up. "I can't grasp on!"

Abaddon's veins popped out, the motors and servos in his suit grinding against one another in their attempt to raise up his brother. He turned to see the trio coming their way. "Please!" he begged, breath stifled. The three of them ran over and grabbed onto Abaddon's suit, pulling as hard as they could.

Abraham's voice rang with hope. "I can almost grasp onto the concrete! Just a few more inches!" The group pulled with all their might, and Abraham flung his hand up onto the concrete, pulling himself up slowly as not to collapse the floor yet again. He took deep gulps of air, the group falling to the ground with exhaustion now that the adrenaline had left them.

Autumn stared at the boy with urgency. "Ah you a'right? Don't want ya tah fall down dead oh nothin'."

Abraham nodded. "I'm fine. Didn't know the ground was so fragile."

Piper gasped in astonishment, and pointed downwards. Miles looked at her, confused. "What? What is it?" He looked to where she was pointing. There, about ten feet down, underneath a misty cloud of dust, was the roof of a room, the inside pristine and tidy aside from the gaping peephole that had just been made through the roof, almost like it had never been touched by the war. "What… what _is_ that?" he uttered.

Piper shook her head slowly. "I don't know… but whatever it is, I say we look at it." She gestured towards Miles. "You first, Blue. I insist."

Miles snorted and slowly maneuvered himself down onto the roof, desperately avoiding the gaping roof hole until he could see what was beneath him. When he got to the lowest point he saw, he dropped down, his knees buckling when they hit the roof holding it up. "Metal…" he whispered. "That's why there was that grinding noise when Abraham fell through it. He must've just fell through." He walked over to the roof, looking down into the room. It was probably another twenty feet down from where he was, but when he turned on his flashlight and directed it inside he saw something amazing. It seemed like some sort of underground storage unit, and it was filled to the brim with… "Art…" his hand began to shake. "Art…?" He started cheering as loud as he could. "Guys! I was wrong! It's all here! It's all here!"

Abaddon and Abraham shared glances, while Autumn, also very confused, shouted down to him. "Whaddya mean, 'it's all theah? _What's_ all theah?"

Miles shouted back up, jovially. "The art! I can see so many pictures! Come on! You have to see this!"

Autumn looked at Piper, who shrugged. "He's usually not this crazy, I swear."

Autumn laughed. "Ah trust yuh, don't worreh." He turned and nodded to Abaddon and Abraham, who nodded back. "Let's go down theah. Lead the way, soldiahs."

The sound of jetpacks roared as Abaddon and Abraham flew downwards into the abyss, Piper holding onto Abaddon, Autumn onto Abraham, while Miles hitched a ride on Abaddon as well. When they reached the ground, Miles was even more ecstatic. "I told you! I told you! Everything's here!"

Autumn gasped with astonishment. "Ah'll be damned… Yuh're right. They've gaht everahthin' heah." He picked up an amphora showing Heracles killing the Nemean Lion. "What's this thang, some soht of floweh vase?"

Miles shook his head, his attention directed elsewhere. "Nope. That's a two thousand seven hundred year old Greek amphora." Autumn's eyes went wide, and he set it down with more care than a mother would do a babe.

Abaddon looked around. "So… where are we?"

Miles shrugged. "Probably in some underground storage space." He looked over to Abraham. "Lieutenant, start collecting paintings, and if you see any that you think should be higher priority, call me over. Treat everything here like you would treat your grandparents."

Abraham nodded. "Right away, sir. What would you qualify as higher priority?"

Miles held up a finger and rustled around in his pocket, pulling out a partially burned and wrinkled brochure for the Art Institute. "Here, I grabbed it on my way in. If you see any of those, call me over."

Abraham nodded and started taking down paintings and lining them up against the wall, categorizing them alphabetically for what he said was "easier identification." Abaddon turned to Miles. "What should I do, sir?"

Miles smiled. "Lieutenant, your job is to look around here and find out where we are and if there's anything more to this room. Understood?"  
Abaddon nodded. "Yes sir." He walked off to the outer expanses of the room, his flashlight cutting through the darkness.

Piper looked at him. "Whaddya want me to do, Blue?"

Miles smiled. "If you could try to find the light switch or power box, that'd be great. Then you could write your article and we wouldn't have to watch out for artefacts to trip over. After that, just do your thing. Take notes and such."

Piper did an air pump with her arm. "Yes! Something I'm interested in doing!" She turned to Miles. "Don't ya worry, Blue, I got ya covered. Detective Wright is on the case!"

Miles smiled, and turned to Autumn. "What do you want me to do, Mr. President?"

Autumn cocked an eyebrow. "Let's try tah look foh any terminals that could give us a clue as tah what's goin' on heah." He glanced over at Miles. "Probablah be in the supahvisah's office. Find that, an' we find the key tah what happened heah."

Miles saluted for the first time since he had addressed the Minutemen almost two weeks prior. "Yes sir, Mr. President. Any other orders?"

Autumn nodded, looking down the dark passageway that was alight with the glow of flashlights. "If yuh see somethin' that ain't human, yuh put it down." he ordered. His tone quickly changed, however. "We're not alone heah…" he muttered.

Miles and Autumn walked together, guns lowered, flashlights drawn. They heard Abraham's voice fizz through the devices that they had been given upon exiting the vertibird which were apparently Enclave communication devices. "This is Gemini Alpha. Sector One is cleared of paintings. No hostile life signs have been detected. Moving on to Sector Two. Over.

Abaddon's voice responded. "Copy that Gemini Alpha. This is Gemini Omega. No signs of an office or ration storage yet. Continuing patrol. Over.

Piper, having realized the widget they were given was indeed a communicator, also responded. "Yeah, um, hi, this is Blackbird reporting in." she said, making her voice sound as gruff as possible. "All I found was a fly that I have codenamed Red October. Oh, and I found this big box that said 'Circuit Breaker.' Permission to activate said box, Over?"  
Miles rolled his eyes, and brought the communicator up to his face. "Ha ha, Piper. Very funny. Pull the lever, please." A confirmatory grunt fed back through the device followed by the rusted squeaking that pulsed throughout the corridor followed by countless (and trust me, I mean **countless** ) rows of tubular light fixtures turning on for the first time in a long time. The hall extended as far as the eye could see and farther still.

Autumn let out a cheer. "Girly, yuh're gettin' bettah bah the second!" he cried, speaking into the comm. Piper laughed back. Autumn turned to Miles. "A'right, CWO. Let's go find that control centah."

They continued down the path, their sides flanked by countless priceless works of art, some looking ready to strike out and extinguish their lives in an instant. Miles shuddered. The room, the endless walkways, the countless paintings, the noises… They were truly haunting. "Mr. President, sir?"

Autumn turned to him, his face showing telltale signs of discomfort. "What is it, Miles?"

Miles instinctively looked to the left and right. "This place… It feels like death."

Autumn nodded, the dim lights flickering above his head. "Ah know. Don't like it naht one bit. Eerie as hell."

As he said these words, the lights illuminated the outline of some sort of office space or checkpoint leading to the other half of the storage vault. Miles couldn't believe his eyes. "Sir… is that…?"

Autumn nodded. "Let's go."

As they were running, a voice crackled over the comm device. Abaddon spoke clearly through. "This is Gemini Omega, found a ration storage. Permission to enter? Over."

Autumn picked up the device. "Gemini Omega, this is Papa Beah. Yuhr request is granted, ovah." He slammed the comm back on his waist and continued to bolt towards the checkpoint.  
Miles had arrived first, not being hampered by the conversation, and had kicked the door open. They walked in together, the only light in the room coming from a dangling fluorescent bulb, swaying in the light breeze created by a rusting desk fan, still blowing away. His head darted to the right and to the left, frantically looking for any source of information that would be beneficial. Then he saw it. On a prominent desk that overlooked the hallway sat a terminal, casting a dim green light over a skeleton that lolled in the chair. Miles recoiled in surprise. He slowly cast a light over the skeletal remains, looking for anything. Something caught his eye. "Wait… what's that?" he muttered, taking a closer look at the skull. A bullet hole, probably a centimeter in diameter, placed directly over the eyebrows. The wound exited through the other side. "Shot…?"

Autumn grew impatient. "Get a move on it, Miles. We need this information."

Miles turned away from the skull and towards the terminal. "Sorry, sir. Right away." He began trying different passcodes until he couldn't try anything else. In his anger, he started typing random numbers. The computer dinged. Miles laughed. "123456789 is the password? I'm not even going to question it anymore." A swath of entries popped up, going back as early as 2076. He began reading It appeared that in 2076, the Art Institute, as well as most of the art community, began preparing for the nukes, moving their entire collection to this vault for preservation in a nuclear attack. The curator seemed to be the owner of the computer, and he spoke of the grief he had closing off the museum to the public even though he knew it was necessary. Miles skipped a few chapters and saw the most recent entry. Year 2287. And the date? "Only a week ago!" He turned to Autumn, who was uncharacteristically quiet. "Sir, I…" He saw Autumn with his arms raised, and hearing the click of a pistol hammer, he turned to its source.

Standing in front of him was a ghoul, his features worn, like a trying ordeal had become of him. His body was covered with a torn tan suit, his feet decked with leather loafers that looked like they hadn't seen light in decades. He spoke, his voice like asphalt. "Who are you?! More looters?" His eyes darted around wildly. "This is a place of culture, not raiding!" he cried angrily.

Autumn shook his head, and spoke. "No suhr, nevah. Ah am the President of the Enclave and the leader of the United States Govahnment in absentia."

The ghoul slowly lowered his gun. "What? Enclave? You some sort of despot?" Autumn lowered his arms and walked over. The ghoul swung his arm back up, gun barrel lightly caressing Autumn's nose. "Stay back!" he warned.

Autumn showed no signs of fear, resting his hand on the ghoul's shoulder, much like a grandparent would do to a beloved grandchild. "Not at all, mah good man. We weah fohmed from the remnants of the U.S. Govahnment, and our goal is not tah be despotic, no suhr, our goal is tah reform these great United States."

The ghoul looked mystified. "Really?"

Autumn laughed hearily. "Reallah. We're takin' the aht tah ouah base, Vault 42, foh safekeepin'." He looked and acted very charismatic as he spoke. "If yuh would help us out we would be vereh grateful."

The ghoul looked downtrodden. "And you'll just leave me here…"

Autumn smiled and shook his head. "With all this new aht we'd have, we'd need a cuhratah, right?" The ghoul took a huge gasp and began choking. Autumn patted him on the back and he regained his breath. "Ah yuh a'right?"

The ghoul nodded. "Thank… thank… thank you, sir. I've been down here for so long… You mean it? You'll let me curate these again?"

Autumn smiled. "Of couhse! We're building new Vault wings, what bettah time tah make a massive museum?" Autumn's voice grew quiet. "But foh that tah happen yuh need tah tell me what happened heah."

The curator nodded. "Yes, yes, of course. My name's Harry, by the way. Harry Smalls." He seemed to remember that he was still raising his gun, and he quickly holstered it into the makeshift bandoleer that sat snug over his chest. "I was the curator for this place, for the Art Institute long before… long before the world went to hell. In May of… 2076, I believe it was, yes, the U.S. Government ordered that all museums that received government funding, even if it's just a few thousand dollars, move their collections into Underground Storage Spaces, or USS, but we just called them 'Art Vaults.' We finished our move in the next year, August of 2077, making this place filled with our collection of beauty, and the best part was that to the untrained eye it would seem like there was nothing in our museum and they would move on by." He looked grim. "But on October 23rd, a few of my employees and I were checking on the humidity of the vault when we heard the first nukes hit. It was like nothing you've ever heard, like millions of pounds of TNT raining down. We shut the door as quickly as we could, refusing to leave, locking the door. The first reactions were disbelief, y'know?"

Miles nodded. "I didn't believe it either. First, we were watching an ad for the Army Corp, then it all went down."

Autumn looked at Harry, expecting the confusion that was on his face. "He was cryogenically frozen in a Vault."

Harry looked amazed. "So you remember that old jingle they had for that gum commercial?" They began singing together. "Keep Commie breath away, chew Dortant every day!" Harry laughed. "That's fantastic!"

Autumn looked stern and confused. "We can talk about that lateh. Please, we need tah know what happened."

Harry snapped back to the task at hand. "Right! So, um, it was unbelievable, right? We didn't believe it, I mean. Some guys, they wanted to leave, but I refused to let them kill us all by opening that door. I took command and ordered that we set up communication, see if anyone was still out there. We made a small society, y'know? Over time, things got better, but what we weren't prepared for were the sinkholes. Unbeknownst to us, the sinkholes not only destroyed most of the city, but also made parts of the vault fall apart, not only causing structural damage but also allowing radiation to seep in through the cracks, and we slowly morphed into… well, into this." He poked himself. "Immortal, thinking, feeling zombies, minus the thirst for human brains. Some of the guys couldn't take it, being ghoulified, and went crazy, almost like a dog with rabies, feral, even. First guy who lost it made me freak out, and I shot him when he started moaning like a zombie." He pointed to the skeleton. "When the others started to go, I herded them away. They didn't try to hurt me, but I didn't want them to damage the art I had thrown my life away for. Seeing as how it didn't seem like I needed food anymore, I locked them in the rations cellar. Hopefully they'll just rot away."

Miles looked like he had seen a ghost. "Ration cellar?!" He got on the comm. "Gemini Omega! This is Typhoon. Do you read? Over!" Static. "I repeat, Gemini Omega, this is Typhoon! Do you read? Over!" More static. He threw down the comm in anger, turning to Autumn. "Abaddon is down."

Autumn turned to Harry. "Where is that cellah?!" Harry waved them over, beckoning them to accompany him. They ran down to where a bolted metal door was left ajar, the cold air that had kept the food fresh blasting out at them. They rushed in, and saw Abaddon under attack by about four ghoul reavers and a glowing one, his armor broken in places and blood trickling down the metal plates. The three of them pulled out their weapons, attempting to flank the ferals. Unfortunately, it backfired. The ghouls, under the leadership of the glowing one, put their might against the three new attackers, forcing a retreat.

Abaddon pulled out a plasma grenade. "Mr. President, sir! Get your men out and get down!" A blue light flashed, and Abaddon gave a thumbs up. Abaddon tossed the grenade and Autumn pulled Miles and Harry down behind the wall. The room imploded, and when they walked in the only thing that remained of the ghouls was a puddle.

Miles threw his arms up and cheered in exhilaration. "Fuck yeah, that was awesome!" he panted, brow dripping with sweat.

Autumn glared at him, turning to Harry. "Ah'm sorrah it came tah that. Ah know they weah yuhr friends."

Harry nodded. "Thank you… Mr. President."

As Autumn comforted the man, Piper and Abraham ran up. Piper was the first to notice Harry and Autumn, and being confused, she turned to whisper in Abraham's ear. "I thought the Enclave hated ghouls?"

Abraham shook his head. "Not under President Autumn. Super mutant, ghouls, no matter what, he treats them like humans. He is truly a great man." Abraham beamed. But then he saw it. He saw Abaddon, slowly bleeding out on the wet floor. He ran over. "Abba! Are you ok?!"

Abaddon shook his head. "I don't think I'm going to make it, little brother…" They had been born a minute apart, and a running joke was created.

Abraham rocked him in his arms, his tears streaming down, making soft plinks on the bloodied power armor. "I don't believe you… you're going to be alright, Abba. You're going to be fine." Abaddon began to close his eyes, but Abraham forced them open. "Mom always said you'd look out for me! She made you promise! Please! Please don't break that! I can't survive alone! I can't be alone!"

Abaddon laughed softly, coughing up blood as he did. "You're so cliché, Abe. It's alright. We had a good run, didn't we? Don't think about this. Think about the good times, alright?" He looked up at him, the light in his eyes rapidly fading. "I love you, Abe."

Abraham was openly weeping now. "I love you too, Abba. I always will. I swear, Abba, I swear! Just don't leave me alone! I need you! I do! I love you!"

Abaddon smiled, and the two brothers embraced each other for the last time. With a final smile, and a wink, Abaddon breathed his last, his body going limp in Abraham's arms. Abraham pulled the body close, his tears adorning his brother's corpse. Abraham hugged the corpse, kissed his forehead, and went to shut his eyelids. But lo, they were already closed. He had died in peace, his eyes lightly shut and his mouth curved upwards into a smile. Autumn walked over to Abraham, putting a callused hand, firm but gentle, on his shoulder, kneeling beside him. "Yuhr brothah was a fine, fine man, Abraham. This wohld was naht worthah of him. If theah is a Heaven, a Valhalla, ah can say that, without a doubt, he has joined those ranks, that he now stands among gods."

Abraham rested his head on Autumn's chest. "But it's not fair! I don't want him up there, I _need_ him down here! He means everything to me!" He lifted up his head, his eyes darting all around. He began cackling. "I get it! This is some sort of sick joke!" He threw his hands in the air. "Alright, Abba! You can come out now! It's fine! You're fine! We're going to be fine!"

Abraham's eyes grew confused, and he turned to Autumn. The man shook his head. "Ah'm so, so sorrah. Ah wish ah could bring him back. But he's gahn, Abraham. Don't let yuhr brothah be the reason yuhr wohld ends. He wouldn't want that, and yuh know it."

Abraham nodded slowly. "Maybe… maybe…" He couldn't get the words out. It was too painful. He just turned his back on the group and walked out, his brother's corpse lolling in his arms.

- **Later** -

The sound of multiple vertibird engines filled the sky, and the final pieces of art were extracted from the underground gallery. The entire vault was now devoid of hundreds, nay, thousands of pieces of art, pottery, architecture, blueprints, journals, and sculpture. And in one helicopter there only lay one thing: a coffin, draped with the flags of the Enclave and the United States, preparing for burial. When that helicopter landed in the Lincoln Park Graveyard, a group of soldiers in Enclave dress uniform greeted them. They lowered the casket out of the vertibird and carried it to the grave site, and when they arrived they saw most of the Vault sitting in the stands behind them, awaiting the burial and waiting for their final remarks. They had decided to conduct the funeral at the site of the burial, and as the latest snowfall began to flow down, they began. Moving eulogies and memories were shared, jokes told, and life remembered. Not a single person cried in sadness, no, the only tears they had were tears of memory, sadness overwhelmed by the memories they had of Abaddon. When it was Abraham's turn to speak, the man who had broken down in the vault was gone. In his place there stood a strong man, a man who was not afraid of death. He spoke of his brother's final moments, the memories they had, and the words they shared. At the end of it, there were tears, no doubt. Their mother and father spoke together, speaking of how he had always protected Abraham when he needed help, always been there for him. The last eulogy was given, and Autumn raised his hand in the air. Twenty-one Enclave soldiers raised their rifles in the air, and when Autumn slammed it down, they fired. His hand raised again, the weapons cocked, and when he slammed back down, they fired. He gave the order again, the weapons cocked, and they fired. He raised his hand one final time, his arm shaking, and he slammed it down, the weapons firing in sync.

He walked up to the podium, his hands shaking now, and began to speak. "Mah fellow Americans…" His voice quivered. "Mah fellow Americans, today we have lost a great soul. It is always a great tragadeh when parents must bureh their children, but in this case the tragadeh befalls all of us. Naht onlah was Abaddon Glenn a soljah of great prowess, but he was a man who looked out foh his countrymen. He refused tah go on a mission unless the chances of suhvival were less than fiftah percent. He onlah picked this mission because his twin brothah was goin', a twin who was always inseparable from his countahpaht. The chances of suhvival? Ninetah-five pahcent. Ah guess that in the end he was always the minoratah. He sacrificed his life tah save ouahs, and foh that there is no highah honor that ah can give him but the Medallion of Honah." He draped the medal over the coffin, while handing another to the grieving parents. "When he detonated that 'nade, he knew what the consequences weah. He knew that doin' that would seal his fate and make death unavoidable, but he saved ouah lives and had time tah give a final goodbye. For that, he will be fohevah remembahed, not onlah by this stone, but by the ones who he touched in his life. May God rest his soul. God bless America. God bless the Enclave."

The ceremony continued in earnest, and when the time came to lower the casket, there were tears. And when the family of Abaddon began filling the grave, there were even more. But when the ceremony concluded, there were no tears. Instead, there were memories. Memories of the feats that Abaddon had accomplished, memories of his deeds, memories of his kindness, not of his death. It was the greatest way a man could ever be honored.

- **Later** -

Autumn had come to see the duo off, their car refitted with tires, fuel, and a new flag on the hood (no points for guessing the faction). Miles shook his hand firmly. "Mr. President, it's been an honor."

Piper hugged him. "I'll miss your weird accent. Visit Boston sometime, won't you?"

Autumn laughed. "Be caheful of what yuh say, girly. Ah might just take yuh up on that offah!" They all laughed. Autumn chuckled. "Ah will see you again one day, don't yuh worry about that. Ah've got that gut feelin'. Yuhr good people, y'hear? Don't let nobody tell yuh othahwise."

Miles saluted, Piper shook his hand, and they climbed into their car, starting the engine. As the Highwayman sped away, the Chicago landscape growing out of sight, they waved a final goodbye to Autumn, who gave them a smile and a wave back. Piper turned to Miles with a beaming face. "I guess the Enclave aren't as bad as I thought, after all." They laughed, and looked forward. There, above their heads, sat a sign. _Dallas, Texas: 924 miles - 14 Hours._ They looked at each other, smiled, and floored it,

 **And that's a wrap. I have to admit, being a sibling, I cried when I wrote this, and I hope you guys liked it. Again,** _ **PLEASE**_ **check out the poll on my profile, I will be closing it when I start writing the final chapter, so please, if you want to see your ideas matter in the final chapter, vote. Otherwise, leave me a review with what you want, and I'll put it into other chapters. But please, do vote. I love you guys! -Valkyrie**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey you guys! Valkyrie here, back to tell you a story! First, I'm going to be saying this a lot, but please check out the poll on my account, takes a few seconds to do and makes me happy as well as changing the entire story, so I would beg for your time. Now for reviews. JohnRyan: Yeah, yeah, I know, but I was also considering the damage the armor sustained when he tried to save his brother from falling and the fact that the mission was low danger, so the armor wasn't as fortified as it would be on a dangerous excursion. Ok, fine, I'm bullshitting. It's a plot device. That's all the reviews, so onto the story!**

 **Day 15, Morning. Somewhere on Route 66. Piper and Miles.**

The rays of the sun shot through the window in earnest, marking that a new day had begun. Miles woke up slowly, smacking his lips and fluttering his eyes. He looked around the space that he presumed was his bedchamber in Vault 42. Then he remembered. They had left Chicago for Dallas not a night before. He felt the ground shake beneath his feet. He took his jacket off of his curled body and slowly rose up, his arms buckling. He began mumbling. "Why… why are we moving?" He looked around, head tilting slowly. His blurred vision spotted a glob of red in the driver's seat. He sprung up. "Piper! What are you doing?! You can't drive!"

Piper's hands shook. "I haven't slept in hours… I'm so tired… ate coffee beans… think I broke some teeth…"

Miles grabbed the wheel and wrested it from Piper's hands, pulling it away and bringing the car to a complete stop on the side of the highway. He slowly pried the wheel from her hands, fingers popping off like suction cups on the tentacle of an octopus. He gaped at her in astonishment. "What are you doing?!"

Piper stared at him. "When we left Chicago… You got tired, y'know…? And I offered to drive. Eventually I got tired, too, and I saw this ruined place with an lady holding cups in her hands. When I went in there, I saw that there were coffee beans, coffee beans all over, and I ate some. They were really crunchy, bad for my teeth, but after a while my hands started shaking and I physically could not close my eyes."

Miles rested his head in his hands. "What am I going to do with you?" He turned to her. "Tell me again, Piper, why did you eat raw coffee beans?"

Piper shrugged. "Quick energy, I guess."

Miles shook his head. "Just… give me the wheel." He quickly switched seats with Piper, turning to her. He sighed. "Fine, I'll say it: Thank you for trying to help."

Piper smiled. "That's what I do!" She turned to the window, her eyes fluttering.

Miles chuckled. "You should probably get some sleep. Dallas is still…" He heard a loud rumble that shook the foundations of his bones, and turned to see a snoring Piper in the passenger seat. He chuckled. "That's what I get for trying to get some shut-eye, apparently." He glanced at the roadside. A sign was sitting in front of the car, inches away from the hood. He stared at it for a moment, his brain unable to comprehend it. "Route 66…" he muttered. He turned to the sleeping figure that was Piper. "You didn't do too bad after all, Piper. Nice going." His confirmation was given in the form of another ear-splitting snore. He shook his head in disbelief, wondering how any human could make that much noise. He turned his focus to the road, trying to see any landmarks he could recognize.

He remembered what his father had told him. When Miles passed his driver's test on his first try, his father, a senator, bought him a shining 2062 Bullhorn Offroader, the newest model of the year and already one of the hottest on the market. His words still resonated within him today. He had rested a trembling hand on his shoulder and spoke. "Son, I've shaped your life for eighteen long, beautiful years, and now I'm passing the torch. West Point is gonna change yah. College does that." His father had sniffed up a tear, his pride welling up. "But I don't want yah to ferget the small fry, alright? You help the oppressed, the week, the unable, the needy, yah pick them up, y'hear? Because one day, yer positions may be reversed. But the most important thing that I'm going to pass to yah is to never ferget yer homeland or yer family. Yah know I love yah. We love you, Miles. Always will." He was the son of an Illinois native and a New Yorker, but he still had the light Southern accent of his birthplace.

He sighed. He had taken that car to college with him, hell, he had to think about where he hadn't taken it. In the summer of '63, he and his dad (pitbull makes three) drove down Route 66, far as they could go. They visited America together, stopped every place they could. He cherished that time even today, regarding it as one of the best times in his life. He lost himself in his thoughts, the turns of the car becoming rhythmic sways in his thoughts. He had kept that old pile of junk in his garage, refusing to lose that memory for as long as he lived. And now that car was gone, but his memories were still fresher than a newly-picked Georgia peach. He recounted on those the nuke had taken from him once again. His father - gone. His mother - gone. His sister - gone. His friends - gone. His family - gone. His life - gone. He had tried to stifle his fear with hope, smother it in inane ideas. "Maybe they survived? MAybe they got to a Vault, or hid in the backyard bunker?" But hope is not always the answer, and in this case, logic played its trump card. If they had gone to the bunker in the back, they either lived out the rest of their days in an underground facility built for fifty, dying alone and paranoid, or they were ghoulified and were persecuted and probably eradicated by raiders. If they got to the Vault… well, knowing what Vault-Tec does to its occupants, he wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. Resistance to the facts is futile. He sighed, his thoughts becoming murky, his attention turning back toward the road.

He glanced at the sleeping Piper, her sight raising his spirits to insurmountable levels. "I need to move on. I need to start over with a new life. I can keep my old memories, but I start my life over with someone new. With…" He omitted what he usually would put at the end of that sentence: With Piper. He sighed again. He missed his family the most. How does the old epitaph go? "Never knew how much you loved it 'till it's gone"? He chuckled, fumbling to pull out a paper carton and a beautifully made lighter. He dug into the box, pulling out one of the long tobacco rods, struggling to keep the vehicle stable as he tried to put the cigarette between his teeth. After multiple attempts, victory came knocking and he balanced the thick roll between his teeth with the utmost care, gently using his jaw to maneuver the tobacco around. At the moment his hand became free he shot it back toward the wheel, steering them back into safety.

He brought the lighter to his lips, looking at one of his most prized possessions once again. It was made out of pure platinum, with excellently crafted hand-made designs snaking around the grip. It was reminiscent of Zippo lighters with the same efficiency and design. Engraved on one of the sides in gold plating was a message: "To our little lieutenant, keeping us safe! Much love, Mom and Dad." He cocked a brow, laughing to himself. "If only you could see me now…" he muttered. He swung the covering of the lighter back, a small *klik* the only thing being audible for a fraction of a second before a small arc of flame proudly spurted out of the small opening beneath the cap. Its glow illuminated his face, the bounding flame making his blue eyes sparkle and his hazel hair glisten. The flame danced in anticipation as he brought it up to his mouth and lit the cigarette, letting it droop toward the direction of the open window so that Piper wouldn't be alerted.

He sat in silence for a few seconds, but the peace was summarily broken by a loud yell. "Aha! I knew it!"

Miles almost choked on his cigarette in surprise, struggling to keep the now-swerving car stable. Without sparing a moment, he glanced at her and began to shout. "What the fuck, Piper?! You almost made me crash the car!"

Piper glared at him adamantly. "You LIED to me! You swore that you would stop smoking and you LIED! You gave me your word, and you threw it out like used paper!" she spat.

Miles groaned. "Piper, do you realize how much stress I go through on a daily basis? This helps to calm me down when I can't take life anymore."

Piper scoffed. "I've lived in this barren wasteland for twenty-nine long years, Miles. My entire life. I see people I care about die almost weekly. You don't see me lightin' up a smoke and puffing every time it screws me over!" She continued glaring at him, then turned to stare at the carton. "In fact, why don't you give me that?" She grabbed hold of the carton and tried to pry it from his hands.

Miles pulled back. "What the hell are you doing?! You'll kill us all!"

Piper continued to tug on the carton, but faltered. Miles pulled it back. "Goddamn it, Miles! We can't be trusting of each other if all you do is lie to me!"

At that point, Miles lost it. Turning away from the road (and the wheel), he locked Piper in a death glare. "Don't presume to know and understand what I've gone through, Wright. Don't go there."

Piper seethed. "I watched my father die in my arms. My mother left before I could meet her. You are the one who got the good end of the deal."  
In Miles's head, the final wall of reason and understanding was viciously torn down. "I was locked in a pod when the most important people in my life were taken from me, either killed or kidnapped. I had to watch it all, watch them kidnap my son, kill my wife. When I finally find him, he's dying." Miles let go of the wheel. "I COULDN'T RAISE MY OWN SON!"

The car began swerving, its driver nowhere to be found. It began careening off the side of the road, the wheels bouncing violently. The last thing that either of them saw was a tree, flying out of the snow, and the last thing they heard was the violent screech of metal against wood.

 **Day 15, Lodged in a Tree's Snow Bank on Route 66. Noon. Piper.**

If a car slams into a tree in a post-apocalyptic world, does it make a sound? Piper now knows the answer to that age old question. It sounds a bit like thousands of shards of glass imploding onto you while the hood is bashed into itself, not knowing whether these will be your last moments, if anyone will find your corpses. But fate had decreed that their destiny was still unfulfilled, their role in the grand play of life not yet cast. And lo! A kick forces open the passenger side of the car, and what do we see crawl out? A fine maiden, covered in red, and I don't just mean her jacket. There were shards of glass littering the ground, cuts abundant on her body, blood flowing from the incisions like a slow moving waterway. She pulled herself out, her teeth crunching together as she slammed her hand down on broken glass, her cries of anger and pain bouncing about the roadside. She pulled herself out, adrenaline fueling her every movement, her bones sizzling in mind-numbing pain. She forced herself up, her legs fighting to stay upright, and almost collapsed.

She rested a hand on the car and surveyed the damage as best she could. "Fuck…" she seethed. The back of the car was fine, and most of the parts had been saved, but the front of the car was almost destroyed. The hood had been pushed into the tree and it appeared that the engine and most of the parts in the front were completely destroyed. The flags were ok, which was at least an upside, but they weren't on the car anymore. The entire cover had been flung from the car and now sat about 4 feet (1.2 meters) from the car, having been spared the majority of the ordeal. The windshield had been smashed by a thick branch that was only centimeters away from Miles's head. Shards of glass littered the floor, some lodged in the skin of the duo, other pieces shooting outwards onto the ground outside. "Can this even be fixed?" she wondered.

But then she saw what she was looking for. A man, sitting in the driver's seat, covered in glass. She rushed over to the door, trying to force it open. The snow refused to let her succeed, blocking any attempts she even dreamed to have of opening up the door. She frantically looked around to find something to help her, and then she remembered. She ran to the trunk, cracked it open, and there sat three crowbars, each with the word Gordon written on their handle. She had no idea who that was, but she thanked him nonetheless. She picked up the crowbar on the far right, sloshed through the snow and scooted up towards the window. She picked up the dragging crowbar, its weight almost making her fall, and she smashed through the windshield on the driver door, clearing off all shards that could cause harm to a person. She grabbed Miles by the shoulders and dragged him out of the car, his blood staining the snow dark red. She pulled a tarp out of the trunk, draping it over the car to protect it from the snow. She put a hand to his neck, and feeling a faint beat, began to pile snow onto the open wounds, hoping to stay the bleeding for as long as possible. Nothing worked. She looked around frantically, trying to see something or someone that could save Miles's life. Her sight pierced the blizzard, her eyes resting on a blinking red cross on a building not a few hundred feet away. Her spirits rose, and she threw the dormant body of Miles over her shoulder and began to trudge over. She began to mutter incoherently, her body numbing. "It's alright, Blue. You're gonna be fine…"

- **Inside** -

Piper set Miles down on one of the stretchers, taking out a pack of gauze and binding his wound. She took an IV, and attached a blood pack to it. "If I remember anything from my time with Sun, you find a vein…" she squeezed his arm, a vessel popping up, "and you put in the needle!" She inserted the needle with the utmost care, the blood pack slowly draining into his arm. She breathed slowly, her eyes rabid from stress, her brow wet with sweat. She collapsed onto a small metal chair next to the stretcher, her breath wild. She took slow, deep breaths, her forehead cooling down slowly, the shaking in her hands calming. She began to close her eyes, wanting nothing more than to sleep that night and go through this blizzard. But then the door slammed open and multiple footsteps pounded down onto the tiled floor, the shadows casting reflections of glinting armor onto the floor. Piper dove for cover before the shadowy figures could see her, pulling out her gun and reciting a silent prayer for her survival. She counted the number of reflections that were visible to her. She cursed silently. "Too many…" she thought. There were at least five, if not six. "No way am I taking them on, and I don't think they're here to talk." She heard footsteps approaching her. Her breath turned heavy. "Now or never…" She jumped up from her crouched position, executing a swift move that grabbed one of the figures and locked them in a headlock, her 10mm pointed to their head. She pulled back the hammer. "Who the fuck are you?!"

The figures stared at her, one of them cocking their head, while remaining silent. It was not until a few seconds later, when the figure she had captured almost broke her arm and reversed her attack that they began to speak. "Are you the one who owns the vehicle with the plate that reads 5PAC3BA11-1?"

Piper was still recovering from the shock of what had just occurred. The only other time she had gotten her own gun shoved in her face was when Pipe made a replica and humiliated her. Those days felt like long-gone centuries. Piper's voice stayed strong, however, and she replied. "Yes… yes it is. Why do you wish to know this?"

The figure signalled to his compatriots, and for a moment Piper thought she was going to be killed. But then… then they kneeled. "By the order of Lanius Caesar, we thank you."

Piper burst out laughing. "What? You're Legion?! Why are you even here?!"

The figures looked confused. "Are you not Wright of Albany?"

Piper shook her head. "Albany… what about… By the Dweller… the ballistic missile defense system that we activated… does that have something to do with this?"

The men nodded. One of them, the leader, took off his helmet, revealing a rather young face, with a scar across his cheek. "The activation of that system not only saved us all, but averted war. Some subversive had launched an ICBM towards Denver and Arizona. Your activation of the system saved millions." He held out a box. "We ask that you have this."  
She opened the box, bedazzled by what she saw. Two pendants, golden laurels. "What… what are these?"

A voice came over a ham radio that the men had connected in. "Those are the highest awards I could ever give to you. They are the Golden Laurels of Caesar, an award only given out four times, including you two."

Piper looked confused. "You… two?" She noticed the gun was no longer in her face, giving her a little room to think. Then she remembered. "Miles!" She ran over to the stretcher, her hands finding his heartbeat once again, her breath clearing. "He's ok… he's ok…"

The radio spoke again. "My men will attend to the injuries your partner sustained in the destruction of your vehicle. Our blacksmiths are working on replacement parts, but in the meantime, the Legion thanks you."

Piper went wide-eyed. "I have to say, whenever we have an accident there is always somebody just around the corner to help us, like some plot device or something. Really coincidental." She shrugged. "Who are you, anyway?"

The voice remained polite. "My name is Lanius. You probably wonder how I knew you were the ones who activated the system, yes?" He chortled, the radio interpreting it as static. "We have spies everywhere, Ms. Wright, and our camps saw you enter the Dallas area before your… incident." He sighed, finishing his speech. "You undoubtedly have more questions, yes?"

Piper nodded. "Just one. How far away is Dallas from here?"

One of the men responded. "About twenty miles, ma'am."

Piper breathed heavily. "Thank you for helping us, Lanius. Never thought I'd thank the Legion."  
Lanius's voice chortled again. "First time for everything. Your man and your vehicle will be nursed back to health. I thank you again, Ms. Wright."

Piper smiled. "Wherever you're broadcasting from, I thank you, Lanius."

The device shut off, fizzing into non-existence. The men looked Piper in the eyes. "Get some sleep, Ms. Wright. We will have everything settled in the morning."

Piper nodded, her face flat, her expression grim. "Alright. Don't gut me while I sleep, though. I'd like to be able to keep my intestines within my body."

The men nodded, apparently taking her joke at face value. "We will not harm you, Ms. Wright. You may sleep wherever you like."

Piper, her eyes worn, her hair frazzled, her expression haggard, fell asleep in the chair next to Miles, her hand resting on his chest, feeling his beating heart.

 **First off, I'm sorry this is coming out so late. I got sidetracked with life, brought me down. Second off, I'm sorry this chapter is 1500 words shorter than usual. I just wanted to get something out before Valentine's Day. The schedule for the beginning of the year is gonna be a bit hazy, but don't think I've abandoned you guys. Anyways, review, tell me what you want to hear, read, see, whatever sense you use to read my stories. Check out my poll, again, takes a second, makes my time writing 110% easier, and just keep everyone up to date. Thank you guys again, and I'll see you next time! -Valkyrie**


	13. Chapter 13

**Heyo! I'm back, and you know what time it is! Review time! JohnRyan - I know! He is just so inattentive. You would think the army would have taught him that. And no, I do not mean they won. In this story, the Courier took the independence route, killed Caesar, convinced Lanius to go home, and pushed the NCR back from Hoover Dam and Nevada. More to come on that later… HoneyClaw: Never underestimate the power of cameos! But no, I thought it was high time for some arguments to get real. Poll is closed, and onto the story!**

 **Day 16, Goldman's Clinic, Dallas. Piper and Miles. Morning.**

Piper woke to the sound of a tree crashing down outside, the absence of any screeching metal roofing indicating that it had missed the clinic, however small the margin of error. She rushed outside to survey the damage, but what she saw was a different sight altogether. Sitting outside the door, the fallen tree barely missing their car, which had been freshly tuned and repaired. She smiled broadly, staring at the car in disbelief. "Guess those Legion guys know their stuff." She looked around her. "Speakin' of which, where did they go?" She scoured the surrounding area for anything to indicate life: fresh footprints, tents, campfires, even stakes. Nothing. It was almost like they had never existed. She began to wonder if it was all a dream, if the shock that she had suffered in the accident had led to her apparent delirium. When she thought about the situation, it just made more sense that she was losing it. Why would a group of slavers who not only oppress women but want to bring society back to Draconic ideals give them their highest honor and let them live? And why was there a Legion troop searching just outside of Dallas, in foreign territory? She was slowly convincing herself that she was crazy, but the next thing she saw changed everything.

What she found upon her return, however, allayed her fears. There, stuck between the prongs of the windshield wipers, was a note. She unfolded it carefully, her curiosity getting the better of her. Out tumbled a miniature device of some sort, barely the size of her pinky finger. She caught it before it hit the ground, her tuned instincts kicking in and saving the day once again. She looked back at the letter, and began to read it out loud.

" _Ave, amicus. By the time you read this, we will be gone. However, the Legion never forsakes its allies, especially not ones that have saved our entire society. Because of this fact, we present you with one final gift. The enclosed device does not do your actions justice, and as much as it concerns me that you haven't been very trusting of us in the past, we hope you can one day learn our intentions are good. This device will be the beginning of that. Use it in your hour of need and your enemies will fall at your feet. The Legion thanks you for your help, even though you may never be seen again. May Mars guide you in battle_."

Piper shook her head, reading the final stretch of the letter. "It's signed by Lanius." Piper laughed to herself. "If this keeps up, we're gonna run out of enemies!" The letter unfurled again, revealing a postscript.

" _Your golden laurels double as grants of safe passage and will guide you through all land belonging to our order with the utmost haste and care. Show them the medals and your passage will not be impeded._ "

Piper chuckled. "Nice…" She threw the note in the car, ice sliding down the hood. She glanced skyward, surveying the weather situation. "Cloudy, but it looks like the worst showers have passed." She breathed a sigh of relief, flinging open the double doors of the clinic and striding over to where Miles lay sleeping. There was clanging emitting from his room, indicating he wasn't too dormant anymore. What lay in the room, however, made Piper gasp in surprise.

 _ *****HUGE DAMN UPDATE*****_

 _ **Hi guys! I know you're gonna hate me for interrupting you in the middle of a chapter, but you need to see this and I'm pretty sure half of you don't actually read the top portion, so don't skip this either. It's so important I interrupted my story! I'm gonna have to take a break because I'm working on a brand new story (it's Star Wars related)! Don't get on my ass for it! Hopefully, it won't be a long break, but if it is… Don't worry. Sing that talking fish song in your head. Be happy.**_

 _ *****END OF UPDATE*****_

It appeared that the healing powder had worked a little too well. Miles lay on the ground, fiddling with a metal scalpel. He tossed it up in the air and caught it, repeating this simple motion without pause, seemingly unaware that Piper was standing beside him. He was humming under his breath, his words barely audible. "And one little piggy went to the market…" He threw it up in the air again.

Piper ran to catch it, almost dive-bombing in front of him. She glared at him, and he stared back. "What the hell are you doing?! Knife hats aren't in fashion, Blue. Don't try to start a trend." Miles began to bite on his fingers, nibbling on his nails. Again, Piper swatted away his hands. "Okay, Blue. You can stop that now. It's not funny anymore."

Miles looked up at her. He slowly extended his hand and poked her nose. "Boop." He burst out laughing, almost psychotically.

Piper sighed. "By the Glow… are you overdosing on morphine?"

Miles tilted his head and shrugged, his voice groggy. "Maybe… maybe not… Guess you'll never know. I'll take my secret to the grave!"

Piper glared, and Miles just looked away. "Well, we have to leave if we don't want Pipe to blast the Commonwealth into radioactive dust. C'mon, get in the car. We're leaving."

This was a moment that Piper recounted long after this day. Miles _growled._ Not figuratively, not a hyperbole; he _growled._ "No!" he screamed. "This is my fortress! You will never take us alive!" He began to pick up medical trays and toss them at Piper's head. "Begone, demon! This is my domain!"

Piper covered her vulnerable head with her arms. "What the shit?! Stop throwing trays at me! This is no longer even _mildly_ amusing!" Miles continued screeching like some demented banshee until Piper hid behind an operating table, at which point he just concentrated his energy onto the objective of breaking metal with plastic trays.

Eventually Piper grew tired of getting trays thrown at her, and Miles's throwing arm got tired. They reluctantly agreed to a truce (and by agreed, I meant that Miles forgot she was there and Piper took advantage of the scenario by punching him in the gut and carrying him out to the car) and the two left the clinic behind, the Dallas skyline emerging in front of their eyes. Miles was the first to point out his observations. "Those towers look like ice cream cones."

Piper looked at him with confusion, performing an almost instant double-take. "Wait, what?"

Miles pointed to the towers again. "I said, they look like…"

Piper stopped him. "Yes, I know what you said. I was being rhetorical."

Miles scrunched up his face. "Is that even how you use the word 'rhetorical'?"

Piper rolled her eyes, wanting to smash her head against the wheel until he shut up. "I could really give a mole rat's ass about how you use the damned word, Miles. I'm trying to make sure you don't make us crash the car… Again!"

Miles sulked. "Fine… You're rude," he huffed. "It's not my fault if you've just got a…" He saw something out of the window. "Butterfly! Butterfly! Butterfly!" he shouted.

Piper grinded her teeth, looking over to where Miles pointed. There, floating outside the moving car, was a colossal cazador. Piper lost her voice, unable to scream, so she did the only logical thing you could do in this situation: she floored the pedal and drove like hell. It was at least a minute before she regained the control of her throat, panting softly.

Miles pouted, staring at her. "I wanted to catch the butterfly! I wanted to!"

Piper began to twitch, turning to Miles with a glint of fury in her eyes. "You want to go pet it? You want me to push you out of this fucking car so you can get eaten by some horrendous contortion of science? Fine. Get yourself eaten. See how many shits I give."

Miles stared at her. "Ok." He grabbed the door handle, attempting to open it. "Hey, it's locked!"

Piper's mouth fell open, her eyes batting wildly. "You were _actually_ going to go outside?" she whispered, incredulous.

Miles shrugged. "Why not?"

Piper sputtered. "Why… why not?! Why not?! Because you'd get eaten, that's 'why not'!"

Miles was still oblivious what had happened. "But… but… I wanted to!" He looked outside the window, noting the absence of the furry death creature. "It's gone!" he shouted. Shrugging, he just began speaking casually. "I guess I'll just have to find another butterfly."

Piper shook her head, muttering silently. "You do _just_ that, Blue. See what happens." The Dallas sky was dark, unnaturally so. It made Piper wonder where the people were, where the inhabitants were. And then… she saw **it**. On the entrance ramp to the Dallas Sky-Tram, there was a sign. What had been on it all those years ago will never be known, never be documented. But we do know what it said then. " _ **EVERYONE DEAD**_ " Piper stopped the car, the screech of the brake lines piercing their ears.

Miles jolted up, awoken by the disturbance. "What… is there another butterfly?" He looked around. "Wow… this is really depressing. Why are we here?"

Piper was still in shock. Looking around her, she saw similar signs. Most had messages written on them, like " _ **STAY AWAY: DEAD INSIDE**_ ", but some just had crosses written in blood over and over, some had skulls and crossbones, some had corpses flung over them. Piper swung open the door, taking a step outside. She took Miles's Pip-Boy (and subsequently his entire body) and began tapping numbers. "C'mon, c'mon, please no…"

The Pip-Boy beeped and began speaking in that voice that Piper had always thought was hilarious. Now she just found it eerie. "Hello, Vault Resident #53284! Unfortunately, your request did not find any matches. Would you like to re-scan the area of DALLAS, TEXAS for any signs of life?" Piper slammed her hand down on the YES option. "Re-scanning. Re-scanning. Re-scanning." She sat there for an hour, Miles in tow, listening to it repeat the same word. "Re-scanning. Re-scanning. Rescanning." Finally, a ding. "We're so sorry, but there appears to be no life forms in the areas of DALLAS, TEXAS. Would you like to contact the local Vault for more information?"

Piper slammed her hand down on the YES option, and the Pip-Boy began going through a list of Vaults across the country with many of them crossed off, the words NO CONTACT in bold letters on the sidelines. After what seemed like millennia, it reached Dallas. The words right next to it not only chilled her to the bone, but made her hop back into the car, pulling Miles along with her. Miles stared at her. "Well? What does it say?"

Piper didn't bother to glance at him, just floored the pedal and took the highway to Vegas. "Nothing. Just said that it had no contact. We're going to be leaving now." As the Dallas sky had appeared only moments ago, it now disappeared behind them. The only words that Piper could see, however, were the ones that had flashed upon the screen when she clicked on the Vault.

" _VAULT 98.912% DESTROYED. DATE OF DESTRUCTION: 10-23-77. CAUSE OF DESTRUCTION: MASSIVE EXPOSURE TO UNKNOWN TOXIN. ORIGIN: SIERRA MADRE. OUTCOME: CATASTROPHIC REACTOR CORE FAILURE. KNOWN SURVIVORS: VAULT 69: NO KNOWN SURVIVORS. DENIZENS OF DALLAS, TEXAS: NO KNOWN SURVIVORS. ESTIMATED CASUALTIES: TWO MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED TWENTY ONE PEOPLE."_

It sent shivers down her spine. She didn't want to encounter what sort of "toxin" had managed to send a Vault into meltdown, and she sure as hell didn't want to get killed by it. She saw the sign above her head pointing toward the west, reading _"Nevada Territories."_ She smiled, grateful for an ounce of shelter after what she had seen. As Miles sat in the passenger seat, the morphine slowly wearing off (at least he didn't try to feed the Yao-Guai that they saw on the road), they pushed the vehicle to its limit. She grinned, remembering the promise she had made to herself on that cold Illinois night, not to mention a different situation entirely. She was about to meet an old friend from a past life, and she couldn't be happier.

 **And that's the end of this chapter. I know, I know, making everyone in Dallas dead might be seen as a cop-out (and it kinda was, if I may say so) but I think that everyone might be getting a bit annoyed of the same cliche that's repeating here: Go into city. Get caught. Miles says something. People amazed. Make new friends. Get released. Get help. Repeat until bored. That's how I kinda feel this is going, so I sped up the process a bit. Yes, I know this chapter was EVEN SHORTER than the last one (again, life is trying to stab me in the back again) but I hope that the remaining chapters in this story will be at least 2500, if not the regular 5000. I'll shoot for that. On a side note, who is Piper's friend in New Vegas? Could it be…? Let's find out next time! As always, I love you guys, thanks for your support, and I'll see you laters! -Valkyrie**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok! Hello, you guys! I have a special treat for you today! If life doesn't try to kill me, this chapter will be a whopping five thousand words (you can clap now)! I want to make up for my past chapters being less than stellar, both in content and length. Hopefully this will make up for that! Reviews: John: Teh ghast puple r sp00ky. And yes, morphine Miles is what happens when you don't sleep and do drugs. Don't do drugs, kids. Get your 23 hours of sleep. Take one hour to read my story, of course. I'm going to finish this story first, and then I'll focus on my new Star Wars story. I haven't abandoned either of them.**

 **However, there is something that I need to say. I've been lacking in inspiration lately, both for TTP and the new story, and I think I'm going to take a hiatus. It'll probably be 9 weeks, about 2 months. If I do find my inspiration there, I will be trying to upload from said location, but it's not set in stone. I haven't abandoned either of these stories, so please, PLEASE don't think I'm dead or neglectful. You guys keep me sane. Without further ado, here is another romance-filled chapter of Tale of Two Pipers!**

 **Day 18, Outskirts of Las Vegas. Afternoon, Piper and Miles.**

Miles groaned, slowly shaking his head in exhaustion. "Wha… Where are we?"

Piper grinned, pleased that he was finally awake. "Almost in Nevada. You've been asleep for well over a day. How are you feeling, Captain Cosmos?"

Miles cocked a brow at her. "Captain… Cosmos? I'm not Captain Cosmos. The real actor was actually an asshole; at least that's what they said. I don't _think_ I'm an asshole… am I?"

Piper shook her head. "I'm not going to answer that." She turned to him, obviously having some knowledge that he did not possess. "Last night you were screaming about how you had gone to space with Captain Cosmos. I had to turn up the radio static to drone you out, Blue. I willingly listened to radio static. I don't think you know what that does to a person's head."

Miles blinked rapidly, looking back at her. "What in the seven hells are you talking about? Last night we were driving to Dallas." He looked around, the snow-capped arches of the canyon a sight that Miles wished he could take a picture of. He quickly looked away from the window, focusing on the task at hand. "This isn't Dallas."

Piper stopped, unsure how MIles would react to the news. She sighed, deciding it was best to tell him now rather than later. What did they always say? Don't keep secrets from those you love? She rolled her eyes. _Yeah, right._ she thought, shaking her head. "Miles… Dallas is gone. No signs of life in the entire damned city. I don't know why, I don't know who, but I know it happened and frankly I'm not sure what could have happened. The answer I got seemed unbelievable."  
Miles looked dumbfounded. "What do you mean, gone? Did the nukes wipe it out?" He scratched his chin roughly, searching for a question to stave off his fear. "Did any of the Vault residents survive?"

Piper snorted ruefully, masking her fear with indignation. "Blue, the _Vault_ didn't survive. Someone… no, something made it go boom." She was hesitant to tell him everything else the report had revealed, but she decided that if she was going to go halfway she should go all the way. "The report said that the cause was a localized instance of an unidentified toxin, presumably a chemical agent. I looked at some of my bodies, and even though my medical knowledge is rudimentary, it seemed that the ones who didn't shoot each other suffocated to death. Asphyxiation."

She looked him square in the eyes. "It came from the Sierra Madre."

Miles looked confused. "The Sierra Madre? The casino resort? Where would a damned casino get a chemical agent?"

Piper shook her head. "I don't think it did; at least, not intentionally. My best guess is that the security system flipped its shit and went haywire, releasing some toxin that the Sinclair nutjob had put in as a crime repellant. Poor bastard probably didn't even know what he had bought."

Miles shivered, and not from the cold. "God… what do you think happened to the guests?"

Piper hadn't thought of that. "I… I don't know. I don't want to know, Blue."

Miles nodded. "Where are we?" he asked, trying to avoid the topic that had chilled him to the bone.

Piper looked relieved. "Right on the border of the Nevada Territories."

Miles looked at her like she was crazy. "Nevada Territories? You mean Nevada?"

Piper glared at him. "No, I mean the Nevada Territories. Was I not clear enough the first time?"

Miles held up his hands in defeat. "Ok, ok! Sheesh…"

Piper rolled her eyes again. "We're almost in Vegas. Get your caps out." The car rumbled through the bright streets of Fremont, formerly known as Freeside, and she admired the beautiful streetlights that danced and flickered. "Haven't seen this place in a while." She looked out the window, the image of a member of the Kings and a Securitron patrolling the streets making her smile. "Just how I remember."

Miles looked at her quizzically. "You've been here before?"

Piper nodded. "Great place. And if my suspicion is correct, then we should be in for a treat when we get to the gate. You've got friends, but so do I, Blue."

Miles stared at her, oblivious. He had literally no idea what she meant by that, but he got the feeling that he would know soon enough. The car slid to a halt in front of the gate into Vegas, a Securitron rolling over to check their papers. It spoke, its voice monotone and mildly aggressive. "Please submit an identification paper or two hundred Nevada Orens for your currency check."

Piper dug around in her pockets, trying to find her pouch. "Damn, damn… where is it?" She looked over to Miles. "Blue, do you know where my pouch is?"

Miles's eyes went wide. "Your… pouch? That old leather purse?"

Piper nodded. "Yeah, that one. Where is it?"

Miles pursed his lips. "I put it in a secret compartment in the hood, so it should be there."

Piper groaned. The Legion had probably scrapped the hood when they repaired the car. "Miles… my old Diamond City press card was in there. Why didn't you tell me you had hid it?"

Miles rested his head in his hands. "I have no fucking clue."

Piper sighed. "Well, great." She turned to the machine. "Well, we don't exactly _have_ the ID or the Orens with us, but if you would just let us in, we would-"

The robot interrupted her. "We're sorry, but nobody without the proper items may enter New Vegas. Please, have a pleasant day."

Piper looked at the robot indignantly. "Excuse me? You listen here, you big bucket of scrap, we need to get inside and there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop us, y'hear?!"  
Miles began to speak. "Uhm… Piper…"

Piper held up a hand. "Not now, Blue." She turned back to the Securitron. "And furthermore, you don't just interrupt me in the middle of my sentence, you got that?!"

Miles realized that Piper was probably going to continue her rant until she got tired, which would be about several hours. He grabbed her and twisted her to look at the top of the gate. There, sitting on the precipice of the metal door, was a man not much older than either of them. The man strained his eyes to see the duo in the light of the setting sun, but when he saw them clearly he seemed to be overjoyed. Miles couldn't pass up a dramatic line. "We seem to have company, Piper."

He didn't speak for a few minutes, just stared at the two of them. Finally, he burst out in a cheer. "Piper-goddamn-Wright! Is that you?!" He walked down to the pavement, meeting them face to face. "You're a lying piece of shit, you know that? What happened to 'visiting every month?!' Even I get lonely, you know."

Piper laughed, giving the man a hug. He returned the embrace, smiling broadly. "Gabriel, it's great to see you. I love what you've done with the place."

The man chuckled, his voice resonating with an accent that made Miles peg him as an Englishman. "I'm glad you finally get to see it!" He turned his head, looking over at Miles. "And who would you be?" He glanced over at Piper. "Didn't know you already found a man, Wright!" His expression changed drastically, and he quickly flicked a pocket knife out of his coat pocket. "If you hurt her I swear to God I will track you down and slit your motherfucking throat while you sleep."

Miles was very confused and terrified, rightfully so. He stammered, trying to think of a word to say. "You thought… us? No… no no no, we're just good friends. Very good friends." Miles left out the parts where they had slept together, because when a possibly psychotic man is holding a knife at your neck you don't say things to confuse them.

The expression of the man changed yet again, growing far brighter than before. He flicked his pocket knife back down, giving Miles a hug too. "Any friend of Wright's is a friend of mine!" He glanced around quickly. "Sorry for the whole threatening thing. I'm a protective person. Doctor Mitchell says I have what they call 'bipolar disorder.' Don't know what in hell that is, but apparently it's serious." He shrugged. "Oh well."

Miles looked back and forth between the two. "Were you two like… together?"

Now it was Piper's turn to laugh. "No, not at all. When my father died I left the Commonwealth for a few months, hopping on a caravan to New Vegas. I came across Gabriel in Goodsprings, right after he woke up, and he was looking for a man who had shot him in the head and left him for dead. I helped him out for a while, using my investigative skills to help him track the guy down. We became friends, and I even took some pictures at the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, where Gabriel here made New Vegas an independant state. When the battle calmed, we met again, and I promised to come back and visit him when I got the time. It's been years."

The man, who appeared to be Gabriel, nodded. "That's the thick of it. So far I've been able to keep the NCR and the Legion from running back to try to take me down. I swear to you, governments are like children sometimes. They whine and complain when they don't get what they want. It's baffling, really." He sighed, taking a flask out of his pocket, throwing back his head and gulping down a swig of whiskey.

Piper frowned. "I asked you to stop drinking, Gabe."

Gabriel waved her off. "Oh, come off it, Wright, don't do this again. This job is stressful, you know. You would be amazed by the sheer number of people that try to shoot the slot machines into submission." He chuckled, his voice dropping to a whisper, almost as if he was sharing a secret. "They're all bulletproof!"

Piper sighed. "If it was anybody else, I might be surprised." She turned to see Miles rummaging around in the trunk, presumably trying to locate his coat. She smiled, looking back at the Courier. "Do you mind if we come in?"

Gabriel smiled. "Of course! Sorry to have kept us out here. This entire place drops below zero when the sun goes down." He gestured to the Securitrons manning the gate, his command followed by the loud grind of metal on metal and the gate screeching open, giving way for the old Highwayman to scoot through the gap.

Miles's eyes went wide when he saw the city in all of its glory. "It's bigger than I remember…" he muttered.

Gabriel nodded. "I've incorporated parts of Freeside into the compound, even though the Kings do good work in the area." He smiled, taking a deep breath in. "Poseidon is still pumping out energy for the grid. Our engineers tweaked it and made sure that it runs with maximum efficiency, not to mention securing power for all of Nevada." He turned back, his mind suddenly processing his words. "Wait… you've been here?"

Miles nodded, still entranced by the nostalgic atmosphere the cityscape imposed on him. "Yeah. Long time ago, actually. Wanna say that it was… 2065? No, wait… 2066. It was 2066." He frowned. "Apologies. My mind isn't what it used to be."

Gabriel looked shocked. "Cor blimey! You're telling me that you came here… what, two hundred years ago? What sort of fool do you take me for?"

Piper sighed. "He's telling the truth, Gabriel."

Gabriel looked over to Piper, his brows scrunched together. "Oh, come on, Pip! Surely you can't expect me to believe this rubbish! He's no ghoul; the man's skin is completely intact! How else is he going to be able to live for two hundred bloody years without aging a day? What you're saying is preposterous!"

Piper shook her head. "Cryogenically freezing the entire Vault he was a member of might do the trick."

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "Alright, alright. If it makes you feel more like a man, I'll humour the idea that you're two hundred years older than you look. Not buying it, though." He took out a remote and slammed his hand down on the button, and everyone turned to see the doors of the Lucky 38 swing open. "Welcome to my kingdom of glory!" Gabriel cried, taking out a key and turning it into a panel on the back of the elevator inside the 38. Out popped a retinal scanner and a fingerprint detector, and Gabriel simultaneously put his finger down and his eye in the range of the small device.

Piper rested against the wall, crossing her arms as she looked around. "So… where are we heading?"

Gabriel smiled. "Presidential suite. You'll be staying there for the duration of your stay… hopefully a while, if you decide to stick around." The elevator emitted a confirmatory beep, adding Piper and Miles to the database as well as unlocking the Penthouse and the Presidential floors for access. "House's Presidential was quite miserable, really. I remodeled the place, made it bigger, better, and more boisterous. Hopefully you'll like it."

The door slid open, revealing a beautiful suite filled with luxuries and antiquities from across the Wasteland. In the center of the grand plaza, there was a pool filled with bubbling water, and the wall was made of glass, overlooking the Strip and beyond. The room was breathtaking (for visualization purposes, I'm using the Lucky 38 Suite Reloaded - v4 mod, one of my personal favorites).

Miles's mouth hung open in surprise. Gabriel stared at him, unable to pass up a chance for comic relief. "You're going to spoil your appetite if all you eat is files."

Miles closed his mouth, smiling. "Sorry, it's just that this place is awesome!" Miles cheered, walking around the parlor. He slammed into a small Securitron with an elated looking face. He stared at the machine. The machine stared back.

"Hey there!" the machine chirped.

Miles stared some more. "Who are you supposed to be?"

The machine spoke again. "The name's Yes Man! I'm the Courier's right-hand bot!" It laughed, sounding almost sadistic. "You must be Mr. Mackenzie!"

Miles nodded. "Yeah, that's me." He surveyed Yes Man's stature. "You don't look like much."

The machine whirred and clicked, raising itself to the height of an above average Securitron, but the array of weapons it contained was alarmingly higher than most of Gabriel's peacekeepers. "Looks can be deceiving!" the machine peeped.

Miles let out a grunt of interest. "Alright then." He backed away, slowly. "I'll be going now."

The machine nodded. "See ya around, now! Don't be a stranger!" it beeped, rolling off toward the kitchen.

Miles heard Gabriel calling him, and he ran back to the elevator. "What's wrong?"

Piper smiled. "Gabe's showing us his penthouse, Blue. Follow me."

The elevator rose yet again, reaching the top of the structure with a satisfying _ding._ The doors slid open, revealing a massive rotunda. In the center there was Gabriel's bedroom, to the east of that there was the mainframe that controlled all of the Strip, and to the west there was the storage center for supplies. "Welcome to my abode!" Gabriel hollered. "You are going to love this."

He let out a sharp whistle and a cyborg dog barked, shooting to his side. Directly behind him was a blond-haired man wearing a white Enclave lab coat. "Rex! Get back here!" The man looked up, his glasses sliding off his face. "Oh hey, it's you! How's it going, Gabe?"

Gabriel smiled. "I am fine, Arcade. Where is everyone?"

Arcade stood upright, brushing off his far from pristine coat. "Boone and Veronica are still on their way back from their honeymoon; caravan got raided. They'll be back in a few hours. Cassidy's waiting for you in your guys' room; Lily's still tending to her garden on the roof. She asked me to thank you for the greenhouse."

Gabriel grinned. "Alright…" He turned to the duo, his eyes twinkling. "The tour is going to have to wait; sorry. I'm going to go talk to my wife, so feel free to browse the Strip. Cachino owes me more favors than a Jet addict to his dealer, so if you want some freebies head to Gomorrah. Try to be back by tomorrow morning. Try not to ruin the bed." He laughed. "Anyway, I'm heading to my room. You two have some fun, you hear?"  
Piper and Miles eyed each other, a smile creeping on their faces involuntarily. The same thought came to them both, finally ending the battle of rational thought that had raged since that cold starry morning on the outskirts of Chicago. _It's time._

 **And that's that. I know, I'm such a tease sometimes. You'll just have to wait to see what happens! I'm going to go all Ted Kaczynski for a while, go up into the Appalachians. I also apologize to the 10% of my viewers that are British. I probably butchered your slang so badly… oh well. You guys are my life, as always! Don't go callin' the coroner, because I'm ok! -Valkyrie**


	15. Chapter 15

**Holy hell. It's been a long-ass journey, hasn't it? I last posted TTP a year ago, in a Starbucks in Greenville. And now I sit in my own bedroom, with my year old manuscript sitting beside me, and in this moment in time there is nothing more that I want to do than type. I had to reread all of my story, but I've done it. Y'all make my world. I'm back, jack. Let's do it again. *DOUBLE CHAPTER***

 _ **To Callan**_

 **Day 20, Gomorrah Casino, Evening. Piper & Miles.**

A roar of triumph (and quite a few groans of loss) erupted across the casino floor. A pile of chips almost as big as a radroach slid across the table and halted in front of a glass that had once, if its smell was any indicator, housed a bourbon whiskey. Miles's hands swooped down, snatching the chips and shoving them into his dragon's hoard. Piper, having gambled and lost most of what she had bet, put on a pouty expression and followed him down to the collector's stand, holding what meager winnings she hadn't bet. She glanced at him, and, cocking her head slightly, adopted a playful frown. "How is it that you're so good at gambling?"  
Miles bit his lip in concentration and finally shrugged. "Dunno. I guess I'm just skilled at being lucky."

Piper rolled her eyes. "That doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

Miles turned back to stare. "When, my darling, have I ever made sense?"

She cocked her finger at him. "I could count it on my fingers, but I'd have to cut most of them off."

Miles clutched his chest in mock agony, smiling the entire way through. The duo dropped their winnings off at the teller, and, after the usual "high roller" spiel, he gave them a suitcase full of Nevada Orens, the Courier's dastardly smile on one side, and the Hoover Dam on the other. Much to Piper's dismay, he insisted on counting each bundle to reach the exact number of Orens, because, according to him, "My momma always told me that casinos are gonna try to cheat you out." She decided not to mention that his parents had been dead for over 200 years, choosing it to be in bad taste. After about a half an hour, he appeared to be done, and he turned to Piper, eyes gleaming. "Wanna grab a drink?"

Piper smirked. "Sure."  
He pulled up a chair at the bar, taking a deep bow and gesturing to the open stool. "Milady."

Piper laughed. "Why thank you, noble sir. Sit next to me, I beseech you."

Miles gesticulated wildly with his hands, speaking with a deep, gravelly voice. "My dear, you honor me. Nothing would please me more than to…"

Piper cut him off, mildly irritated. "Just sit in the damned chair, Romeo."

Miles scoffed, sitting down slowly. "No respect for the arts…"

As Piper began to retort, the bartender waddled over, his fat layers bouncing along with him. "Whaddya havin'?" he barked, his tone quick and gruff.

Miles looked at the barside menu. "What kinds of wine do you have? Any Chardonnay or Grigio?"

The bartender stared at him. "Red and White."

Miles pursed his lips. "Well, no shit, but that's not what I asked. _Which_ wines do you carry?"

The bartender repeated himself, his voice slowing to a crawl. "Red and White."

Miles sighed in frustration. "I give up. Just get me a glass of red."

The bartender nodded, turning to Piper. "You?"

Piper flicked a finger up, gazing at the menu. "I'll take the vodka tonic with extra lemon, please."

The bartender grunted, trotting away to the kitchen to prepare their orders.

Miles turned to Piper, curiosity gleaming in his eyes. "So how in the world did you meet Gabriel, and why does he sound like a Brit?"

Piper looked out, her mind digging to find that first interaction. It didn't take her long. "That was a long, long time ago. Right after my father was killed, actually. I left Nat with the school, cashed in too many favors with Vlad, and hopped on the next caravan to Vegas. Wanted to find what life meant, y'know? Well, it didn't turn out to be as smooth as I thought. Powder Gangers hit our caravan, thought we were NCR. We pushed 'em back, but with our main drivers dead, we had to stop at Goodsprings. Can't go on without drivers! That's where I met him, as much as I long to forget it.

 **Goodsprings, date unknown. Piper Wright.**

Piper Wright slammed open the door of the Prospector Saloon, causing the door to just about fall off of its hinges. On the other side of the bar, a voice yelled. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Another voice, calmer, softer, resounded above hers. "Calm yourself, Trudy. I've got this." A man with a red bandana stepped forward, towering above all the others. Piper pegged him at a height of at least 6'2, if not more. As he trotted forward, she noticed that his bandana wasn't red: it was blood-soaked. She took an involuntary step backwards. The man bellowed a deep laugh. "Come now, don't be 'fraid. I'm nothing to be afraid of." He took a deep breath. "Heard you was looking for a caravan leader. 'At right?"

Piper nodded slowly. "You know someone?"

He pointed at himself. "I can drive it." He coughed deeply. "But in return, you have to 'elp me."

She nodded. "Anything you want."

He tore the bandage off of his head, pointing to the fleshy mass of barely held flesh on his head. "You gotta help me find the bastard who did this to me."

Piper shrugged. "It all went uphill from there. He restarted the caravan, we made it to Boulder City, and I accompanied him all the way to the Second Battle. Then I began my long trek home."

Miles nodded. "We both have our ways of dealing with the loss of those that we love the most." He cocked a half smile. "I never intend to let it happen again."

Piper looked confused. "What do you mean, Miles?"

He couldn't hold it back anymore. "Dammit, woman, I love you!"

It caught her by surprise. But she smiled, replying faintly. "I love you too, Blue." She grabbed the scruff of his neck and pulled him closer, kissing him gently, slowly increasing the intensity. "I always have."

After that time, scenes began to blur, settings changed. The clamour and flashing lights of Gomorrah faded into the serene quiet of a silk bed nested in the Presidential Suite, a bed occupied by two lovers, once hundreds of years apart, reunited. For the first time in all their time together, this was not a mistake. Not a product of a split persona or of adrenaline fueled desire. This was love, plain and simple. Unadulterated, pure love. And unlike the taint that had been placed on these encounters in the past, this love was not a fight for control, nor was it a primal need. This love was an agreement between two people who could not be without each other. This love was fluid, rhythmic, free. This love was beautiful. Every move that was made was meant to be, and they felt right. Every tender embrace, every passion-infused kiss, every graceful movement, every powerful thrust… all of it was meant to happen. And it was right. As the neon lights lit up the worlds around them, the duo fell asleep to the warmth of their own bodies.

 **Day 21, Presidential Suite. Morning. Piper and Miles.**

The glare of the morning sun peeked through the drawn curtains, casting an uneven light on the two figures in the bed. Piper had enveloped Miles's bare chest in a tight embrace, her naked body squeezing into his. Miles had returned the embrace, crossing his legs over hers, locking them both in a human knot. He was the first to rise, and he was, consequentially, the first to notice the presence of four shadowy figures in the doorway. His primal instincts kicked in for a moment, but before he could act on them, he saw the sun gleaming off something that one of them was holding. The outline of a flask, plated with silver and stamped with a golden image of the flag of the Sovereign Territories of Nevada. Only one person had that flask. "Good morning, Gabriel."

The center figure flicked a lighter up, igniting the faces and revealing the figures. The two on the left side appeared to be a couple, a tall, unkind looking man with shades, a beret, and a talking suit of armor. The other was a slightly younger woman with long black hair, a friendly face, a glowing power fist, and a suit of incredibly intricate, not to mention beautiful, modified recon power armor. The center figure was Gabe, who was wearing an excellently tailored three piece suit. The last one was a woman with a crazy smile on her freckled face, her red hair pulled back in a pony tail. She wore a ranchers hat and a set of brahmin herder jumpsuits. Gabriel smiled at them, eyebrows tilted. "Not a couple, eh?"

Piper, just barely awake, began to mumble. "Not until last night."

Gabriel laughed heartily. "Well, in any case, you sounded happy."

Piper groaned. "Oh, shut up."

Gabe rolled his eyes. "I could go on all night about this, but you already did!" He broke down in fits of hysterical laughter, much to the chagrin of all parties present.

Miles slowly got out of bed, sliding on pants and boots. "Great. Another comedian." He sighed, rummaging for his shirt and battle coat. "Why don't you cut the act and introduce us to your gang?"

Gabe feigned hurt. "Now, that wasn't very nice. But, if only for Piper's sake, I'll introduce them." He cleared his throat. "That man over there is Boone." The man who was Boone grunted. "He's a former sniper, NCR First Recon, best of the best, and damned if he's not the best in the west. After the fall of NCR dominance in the Nevada nation he joined us as the leader of snipers and marksman in our military. Tough guy, doesn't speak much to strangers, and, best of all, a killing machine. If you get to know him, though, he's just a lovable teddy bear. Just got married to Veronica." He noticed Miles gawking at the armor, and he chuckled. "That armor he's wearing is a product of Big Mt., the official R&D and Science Center of the Territories. A real marvel when it can shut its bloody mouth for more than a minute."

Gabe turned to the woman in power armor. "This is Veronica."

"Hi!" Veronica piped.

Gabe smiled. "Veronica was once a member of the Douchebags of Steel, but she left after our failed attempt at modernization of the organization failed horribly. Now she teaches CQC to all members. She's quite an amazing person. Her power first is also a marvel. I got it from a toaster who wanted to destroy the planet. Interesting guy."  
"Finally, we have my beautiful wife, Sharon Cassidy. Daughter of the legendary John Cassidy, we met at the Mojave Outpost and fell in love. She's my boss in all but title only, and she's a fucking genius. I love her more than anything."

Cassidy smiled. "You're too sweet, Gabe."

Gabe looked back at them. "Well, that's it for introductions. You're leaving today, aren't you?"

They both nodded. "We need to find Pipe," Piper declared, getting herself dressed.

Gabe pursed his lips. "I'll miss you guys. The Territories will be open to you forever. Consider the Presidential my gift to you. Use it… plentifully." He smiled playfully.

Miles smiled. "Thank you, Gabe. I do hope to see you again soon. Hopefully, it won't be in a coffin."

The goodbyes were quick, and before long the gallant duo left the vibrant world of the Territories, heading for the final showdown that would decide the fate of millions, a conflict that would be fought deep within the concave of the Master's bunker.

 **On the Road Again, Noon. Piper and Miles.**

The ride was as uneventful as a ride to save the world from re-nuclear annihilation could possibly be. There was idle conversation, flirting, and the like, but nothing eventful happened. Before long, the great Mariposa base came into distance. The car drove through the gates that had long before been rusted open and arrived at the bunker in minutes. Our two heroes exited the vehicle and walked up to the great looming entrance of the bunker. As they stood there, they knew they were standing on what would be the beginning of the end. If they succeeded in their momentous task, they would be heralded as heroes. If they failed, the blood of millions would be on their hands. They could not fail.

 **Inner Catacombs, Piper and Miles**

The duo traversed their way through the dark depths of the bunker, their courage barely overcoming their fear. Door after door opened, leading them deeper and closer to their target with every step: Pipe. Finally, there were no more doors save one, Through the rust, one could barely make out the words "Launch Pad." It was the last judgement. This was their destiny. The door slid open, and, with their hands clasped together, they walked into the land beyond the door. This was their destiny. They would not fail.

 **Day 21, Launch Pad, Afternoon. Piper and Miles.**

The room was forebodingly dark when the couple entered the room, but in an instant the giant overhead lights cracked on, each enormous piece of machinery's click sounding like muffled thunder. At the end of the room, they saw it. The and greatest of the Master's arsenal: A massive ICBM, topped with a warhead bigger than a bus, sat snug in a bunker that at any moment could release the technological terror streaking through the heavens towards the Commonwealth.

"I'm so glad you could arrive, Miles. I had expected you to drop your companion," a familiar voice boomed, "But that can easily be fixed."  
"Pipe." Miles seethed, venom dripping from his words.

The woman turned and sashayed down the small flight of stairs that connected the viewing ring of the pad to the floor. "Miles, baby, I'm so glad we could see each other after all this time. I only pray that you're here to ditch this rad-soaked pansy and come where you're really wanted."

Piper couldn't stand this any longer. "You're as stupid as you are delusional, Pipe. The only thing we're here to do is wipe you from the face of the earth and finally end this goose chase."

"Maybe that's your objective, Piper, but is it his? Has he not tricked you in the past? Whose choice do you think it was to bring you to the Institute for the operation? Whose choice was it to separate our minds instead of killing me? It was all his, Piper! Miles put the Commonwealth at risk for ME! He separated us for ME! Maybe his allegiance isn't as strong as yours," Pipe sneered.

Piper looked as if she was in the pre-stages of a migraine. "Institute? What are you talking about?" She pointed to miles. "He said the Brotherhood did the operation, and you escaped in the synth body before they could shut you down! Don't try to decieve me, Pipe."

Pipe's expression turned evil. "You never told her, Miles? What did you use? Amnesia-inducing medication? You know what, though? The thing with those types of meds is that the only thing you need to counteract the formula is a mention of the memory… and a teensy… weensy… SHOCK!" Pipe whipped out a small weapon about the size of a snub pistol but with a drastically different design. She slammed the trigger down and a dart zoomed out, hitting Piper straight in the chest.

50,000 volts of electricity slammed into Piper. It was barely enough to put her onto the ground. The second she hit the ground, Miles had already arrived at her side, doing everything, anything he could do to help her in her current predicament.

It lasted seconds. Piper soon regained control, but something was different. She looked so… hurt. "Are you ok?" Miles panted.

"You lied to me," she whispered. "I trusted you, and you lied to me."

Miles looked shocked. "It's not what it looks like, I swear. I did it for your own good!"

"For my own good?" Piper shrieked, her voice shrill. "Who are you to judge what's good for me?!"

"Piper, please, think about what you're saying!" Miles pleaded. "I've loved you since the day we met, and you know that. I would protect you with my life, Piper. I know you would too."

Piper began tearing up, a sad look in her eyes. "How can I trust you, Miles? I want to, but it's not easy! Please, help me on this!"

Miles took Piper in his arms, leaning his head in close. "Easy. If you don't trust in me, trust in us." And with that, he locked her in a kiss, feeling her slowly receive it with joy.

 _ **BLAM!**_

And then, as soon as it had began, it was over. Piper fell limp from his arms, the confusion in her frozen face. And, standing across the room, was Pipe, holding her 10mm, smoke rising from the barrel. And, slowly but steadily, Piper's white shirt was slowly turned scarlet by the flow of blood seeping through her clothing. Miles stood in shock, unable to register what had happened. Pipe walked closer and closer to him, until she was barely a stone's throw away. "Well, would you look at that? The amazing Piper Wright…" She kicked Piper's limp body. "Dead as a doornail."

Miles sputtered in shock and anger. "You… you bastard! You inhuman, psychotic bastard! You killed her!" He charged at Pipe in a rage, tackling her onto the ground. He brandished his fists and began furiously pounding on Pipe's mechanical face, the circuitry slowly beginning to show underneath her fabricated skin. His fists, bloodied with cuts, continued to rain down. "I… will… kill… you!" he screamed.

Pipe pushed Miles off with a laugh. "How does it feel, Miles?" she rasped. "How does it feel to know that I'm the only one you have left?! I'm the only one!"  
Miles chuckled, spitting blood from his lips. "You're a sociopathic bitch, Pipe. You're the very last person in the world I'd like to be with. Hell, I'd sooner eat a bullet than be with you."

Pipe kicked him down to his knees, slamming a gun in his face. "That can be arranged." she seethed. "I'll give you one more chance. Join me, or die."

Miles slowly cocked the hammer of her gun. "End it!" he yelled, closing his eyes and waiting for the sweet release of Death.

It never came.

The only sound he heard was the giant explosion that blew the door off its hinges and threw both Pipe and Miles to the ground. Then he heard… Marching? A figure armored to the brim, surrounded by smaller, less armored minions. "Piper Wright," the voice boomed, "The Legion hears your call. We will protect you with our lives."

Another explosion rocked the roof, tearing the steel off. Four vertibirds darkened the sky. "Ah haven't felt this alive since the Purifiah!" another voice shouted.

"I'd have to agree, Augustus. This time, though, we fight together," a feminine voice responded.

Scarlett and Autumn rappelled down out of the Vertibirds followed by power armor clad soldiers. "We heard chatter you needed help. We're here."

Lanius stepped out of the shadows, surrounded by his men. "You saved our homeland from nuclear annihilation," he rumbled, "and now, we will save yours."

"What he said!" a cheery voice, digitized, chirped, and Yes Man, flanked by Securitrons, pedaled into the launch bay.

"By order of the Courier, we are to stop you at all costs," one of them declared.

"I'm glad we could all make it," a weak voice declared. "I almost thought I was a goner."

Piper Wright slowly rose, her expression twisted in a pained grin. "Surprise."

Pipe's jaw dropped. "Alive?! But how?!"

Piper turned to look her doppelganger in the eyes. "Ballistic weave, you asshole." She tore off her jacket, revealing double layers of weave and blood packs dangling out of her shirt. She smiled. "Tricked ya, didn't I?"

Miles rushed over and planted a kiss square on the lips. "Never do that again," he whispered.

Piper chuckled. "I don't plan on it."

Autumn boomed, his voice resonating within the halls. "Give it up, Pipe. It's ovah!"

She laughed sarcastically. "You old, misguided fool! It's not over until I say so." She slowly pulled out a small device. "And I don't think I'm ready to end." Her expression turned dark. "I might not be able to launch this beauty, but if I press this button, that warhead will explode."  
"You're insane!" Scarlett shouted. "You'll kill us all!"

Pipe grinned. "That's fine with me, darling."  
A spear flew through the air at breakneck speed, taking off Pipe's arm and embedding itself in the launch pad. "And now," Lanius roared, "It is over. Surrender, and death may still be quick."

Pipe stood in shock. "You idiot! You didn't save anyone! You've started the damned launch sequence! In less than two minutes that missile will launch towards the Commonwealth!"

Piper ran and tackled Pipe. "How do we stop it?"

Pipe shook. "One of you has to sacrifice themselves. The missile can only be manually disabled, by shimmying up and taking out the navigation drive."

Piper sat back in horror. They were doomed. "There's no way to stop it."

As the commotion centered around Piper, Pipe slowly crawled to pick up her 10mm, and got up, pointing it at the group. "You've got 45 seconds left. I would run."

Piper turned to her. "But… one of us…"  
Pipe roared. "Just GO!"

The group ran out of the bay, dashing through the corridors until their feet touched solid ground. Over a hundred feet under them, a one-armed synth began to climb up the warhead, taking advantage of every indent that could be climbed on. As the missile began to flare and rise, she finally reached the top of the warhead, slammed her fist into the steel, and began to tear. To the huddled watchers on the ground, she looked like a mad Yao Guai, but the stories would describe her as having the air of an avenging angel. When the warhead reached 9000 feet, it began to veer off course. At 32,000 feet, it began to slow down. On the warhead, Pipe (who by this time was only a synthetic skeleton) found the last wire she was looking for. She closed her eyes, and whispered. "This is for you, Miles." As she tore out the emergency failsafe wire, the warhead exploded spectacularly, incinerating her instantly. And thus, Pipe Wright died.

On the ground, the explosion temporarily blinded most of those watching, and the force of the blast knocked many off their feet. However, there were none that were more surprised than Piper and Miles. Piper began to mutter. "We've been hunting her this entire time, and our quarry goes off and saves our asses?"

Miles put an arm around her. "She was you, after all. I doubt even she, the literal devil on your shoulder, could overcome the urge to save others. Love is a strong force, Piper." He pulled out a small rusted nut that he had picked up on the ground. He got down on his knees. "Piper Wright, will you…"

"Yes," Piper responded. "Now get off the ground. You're going to get your pants dirty."

Miles shrugged. "Well, that was easier than I thought." He proceeded to slip the nut on her finger.

In the background, a digitized sniffling sound was heard. The couple turned around to find Yes Man with a teary screen. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Piper inquired.

Yes Man made a blowing sound that sounded like a foghorn. "Weddings always make me cry."

After these affairs were sorted out, the members of the confrontational parted as friends, each heading their separate ways. It took a while, but Piper and Miles returned to the Commonwealth, and they were hailed as heroes. They both agreed, though. There would be very little adventure for quite a long while. And that was alright with them.

 _ **FIN**_

 **And that's a wrap. I know the ending may not be extremely satisfactory, but it's where I thought the story should go, and I hope you'll enjoy it too. Redemption is always possible, no matter how deep within you are or how many people you've hurt, and Pipe is a perfect example. Love conquers all. You guys, you mean so much. You deserve every word in this. I love you all. I'll be focusing on my other stories now, but this one holds a very special place in my heart. As do all of you. -Valkyrie**


	16. Epilouge

**This chapter is for those who like things tied up in little bitty knots. More cheesy, but a part of the story. Not necessary to be read, if you don't want to.**

The wedding was held the following week, with Deacon, who, after realizing what the name he was given meant, insisted that he be made a priest, leading the ceremony. When word went out to the friends of the soon-to-be newlyweds, they rushed to attend. Autumn, the Courier (who was still just a little drunk), Scarlett, and at the end of it they had to move the ceremony outside because of the sheer amount of attendees. Nat was chosen to be the ring-bearer and Hancock, Preston, MacCready, and Danse fought over who should be the best man until Miles said they could all play the part, while Piper asked the female companions to be her maids of honor, they all accepted. Cait wanted to have live cage fighting, which was, unsurprisingly, immediately rejected, while Curie wanted to have a life insurance policy taken out on them both until she was reminded, gently, that there were no longer any insurance companies in fifteen miles of anywhere. In the end, the ceremony went swimmingly, and when Miles put Nora's old wedding ring on Piper's finger and they kissed, the crowd went wild. Scarlett and MacCready shared a reunion ten years in the making, sharing stories of what they had done after their encounter in Little Lamplight so long ago. The day couldn't become any happier. Now I'm betting you want to know what happened to everyone after these fateful events, don't you? Well, I won't let you down.

 **Autumn & the Enclave - **The Enclave eventually figured out how the G.E.C.K. worked, and reproduced them for use in other Enclave areas around the Wastes. Chicago turned from a wasteland into a hub of commerce and resources upon activation of the G.E.C.K. and the Enclave became a major player in the Wasteland once again. His memoirs became the second most read piece of literature in the Enclave, second only to the Constitution. The Enclave Cultural Museum was opened a few years after Miles and Piper left, and Harry once again lived among the pieces he curated a long time ago. The museum is still used today as a pilgrimage for any Old World historian. Autumn lived to the ripe age of eighty eight before suffering a stroke. Before he died, he asked to be frozen in one of the pods so that he could one day see the world as he dreamed it to be, and his wish came true. He technically still lives on in the pod, and he is still regarded as one of the greatest presidents in the history of the Enclave.

 **Scarlett -** Scarlett continued to lead Lyons Pride until she was chosen as the new Elder of the Citadel. She lived for many more years until she passed at the age of ninety four when she died in her sleep surrounded by her friends and family. Her legacy, as both the Lone Wanderer and as the Elder, would live for eons after her death. Her memoirs were published shortly before her death and became the third installment of memoirs by the men and women that had saved the Wasteland, among the likes of the Vault Dweller and the Chosen One.

 **The Courier -** The Courier eventually got sober, and ruled New Vegas with intelligence and kindness. He had some bouts with the Legion but he eventually established the Nevada Territories as a powerful state in the Wasteland. He suffered from brain problems due to his extreme alcohol consumption, and on his eighty fourth birthday he died while writing the final words of his memoirs, which were published at his funeral and joined in the pantheon of the memoirs by the saviors of the Wasteland. In accordance with his wishes, his ashes were scattered across the Mojave for one final delivery.

 **The Article -** Piper's article was one of the single most distributed pieces of literature in the Wastes, second only to the Survival Guide that, in an ironic twist, was written by Moira Brown and Scarlett. All in all, it exceeded two hundred pages long, filled with sketches, pictures, interviews (most notably the interviews of the Courier, President Autumn, and Scarlett. She finally got that interview!), and observations that she wrote on everything she saw. The writing was simple so most wastelanders could understand her words and they could avoid the things that would be harmful to them. It started being distributed through Diamond City, but as popularity rose, caravans took it up and passed it out to the Wasteland. Miles's contributions also made the article a leading source of information for the Old World, and in the end it became one of the most known and read pieces in the Wasteland for countless years to come, no harm done by the fact that it was free to have. Things that were too sensitive to mention, like the Reserve, were left out, and the secret would be passed on through word of mouth until the time came for the world to rebuild.

You probably ask, what about Miles and Piper? How did they turn out? Well, I'll tell you what happened. They lived happily ever after in Diamond City, removed from the problems and evils of the Wasteland.

…

…

Not.

 **And that's a wrap. I just want to say thank you guys for your encouragement of this story and of me. You really are the guys who push me onwards. Thank you so much for that, and I have to say there is nobody else in the world that I would rather be writing for. Even though this story was only written in a few months (well, I mean, we don't count the final interval) , it has made me so happy to give someone pleasure through my writing. This will be the final installment of Tale of Two Pipers, and I hope you've enjoyed. I love you all. For those who asks what's next, I have no clue. - Valkyrie**


End file.
